It’s only spring training, but Luis Severino for one year and $13 million is looking like it might be a steal.
The 30-year-old has performed a lot more like the pitcher who finished third in Cy Young voting in 2017 than the one whose ERA was 6.65 last season. Last night, he threw four innings of one-run ball and fanned three Astros.
“Another good outing,” manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after the 6-5 win. “Another good step in the right direction. Velo is up. The way he’s using all of his pitches, the way he’s attacking hitters, getting strike one and just mixing his pitches. Velo is up there and you know it’s good to see Sevy out there performing the way he is right now.”
Severino was often injured and ineffective after having two excellent seasons for the Yankees in 2017 and 2018. He missed all of 2020 and most of 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He had a nice comeback in 2022, pitching to a 3.18 ERA, but injuries limited him to 19 starts and 102 innings. Last year was statistically the worst of his career, as he dealt with a lat strain early in the season and an oblique strain later.
But with the Mets, so far, so good. In three starts, he’s given up one run on five hits in nine innings while recording eight strikeouts. He hasn’t walked a batter.
“We are trying different things,” Severino said after last night’s game. “You know, trying to have a better command on the fastball, throwing in a little bit better. We went in a couple of times tonight, and we got a couple of ground balls out there. But for me the main focus is getting my pitch count up for when the season starts.”
