NFL
By: Billy Lewis
October 15, 2019, was the last time Luis Severino pitched in a Major League Baseball game. That was Game 3 of the ALCS against now teammate, Gerrit Cole, and the Houston Astros. Unfortunately, the Yankees lost that game 4-1 and that series 4-2. Since then a lot has happened for Severino.
Severino was getting ready to toe the rubber for the Yankees to begin their 2020 Spring Training schedule. The Yankees were thinking they would have a two-headed monster to lead their rotation with the newly acquired Cole, and Severino. Sevy would be pulled from that Spring Training start.
Severino missed most of the 2019 season with a shoulder injury, appearing in only three September games before the playoffs. After being pulled from his Spring Training start, Severino would require Tommy John surgery. Hoping to be back earlier this season, a multitude of setbacks pushed Severino and Yankee fans to wonder if he would see the mound at all in 2021.
Severino Much Needed Help
The Yankees bullpen has been rattled by injuries this season including Zack Britton, Darren O’Day, and most prominently now, Jonathan Loaisigia. Being so late into the season Severino does not have the time to be able to get stretched out as a starter, and so he gives the Yankees a much-needed option out of the pen.
Sevy looked good in his return to the mound. He worked two innings and struck out two. The Yankees are in a dogfight for an AL Wild Card spot, and with their final three series being against the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Rays, Severino will hope to become a weapon out of the bullpen.
The Yankees (85-67) are currently on the outside looking in of the Wild Card hunt. They sit in third place, but only a half-game behind the Blue Jays (85-66) and two games behind the Red Sox (87-65). Despite their up and down season, the Yankees have a chance to still play October baseball. If Severino can stay healthy and get another four appearances out of the pen, he would become a great asset in these pressure-packed final weeks.
