Luis Severino faces side strain and won’t make Yankees’ first planned season start – The Mercury News

TAMPA — The Yankees’ rotation has suffered another blow, as Luis Severino struggles with low-level tension on his right side.

“It’s going to put him in danger to start the year,” Aaron Boone said Saturday morning. The manager added that it was “probably an IT situation” for the right-hander, but Boone’s understanding is that it’s not a long-term problem. The skipper described the injury as “subtle”.

NJ Advance Media’s Max Goodman first reported that Severino was injured.

Severino felt a strain in his back after his last start as he went through his post-game arm care routine. This tightness remained in the days that followed. Boone wasn’t sure how long Severino would be sidelined for pitching, but he won’t make what would have been his first start of the season, Game 2 for the Bombers.

Severino was supposed to make his final start of spring training on Sunday.

“He was a little disappointed yesterday,” Boone said. “He’s worked really hard to put himself in a good position here, and for that to happen a week before the season must be frustrating for him.”

Boone said Clarke Schmidt would likely start the Yankees’ second game of the year. Jhony Brito, among others, is a candidate to fit into the rotation if the team needs a fifth starter early on. The Yankees are still weighing their options.

Boone dismissed the idea that the Yankees don’t have enough starting pitch depth, but the team is already without Carlos Rodon and Frankie Montas for several periods. And although the team thinks Severino’s injury isn’t serious, he missed two months with a lat strain last season – although the Yankees kept him on the sidelines longer than he wanted. .

While Severino has shown Cy Young’s potential, injuries, including Tommy John’s surgery, have hampered the 29-year-old throughout his career. He made 19 starts while recording a 3.18 ERA last year, a comeback campaign after starting in just seven games from 2019 to 2021.

Severino is a free agent after this season.

“It sucks for him,” Boone said, “because I know where he is, what he looks like this spring, what the ball looks like, what condition he is in.”

In Independent News, Boone also said no decision had been made on Anthony Volpe’s status as of Saturday morning.

()