Luis Severino Reveals Key to Turnaround With Mets

The Mets' exciting righty made some important changes since joining the team.

Aug 22, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) pitches against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have to be thrilled with Luis Severino's last two performances.

Despite a rough patch in late July and early August, Severino got back on track by tossing his second career shutout on August 17, and followed that up with five innings of one-run ball on Thursday in a crucial 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres. Over his last 14 frames, the 30-year-old has allowed just nine hits and five walks, while striking out 13.

On the season, the veteran right-hander has a 3.84 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, both of which are drastic improvements over last year. In his final season across town with the New York Yankees, Severino struggled immensely with a 6.65 ERA and 1.65 WHIP while also battling injures.

But while Severino staying healthy has been a major reason for his resurgence - his 147.2 innings are the most he's thrown since 2018 - there is another factor behind his success with the Mets.

Severino participated in "The Show" podcast, hosted by baseball analysts Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, both of The New York Post. Heyman was quick to note that despite Severino's poor season in 2023, his pitches themselves looked excellent; Severino proceeded to explain how he was unknowingly tipping his pitches.

"I was doing different things," Severino said. "With a man on second sometimes, if I stop and look at third, it was a fastball. If I look at second going straight home, it was offspeed. That's one of those things that I stopped doing. Also, my hand position with the glove, I was a little bit down in one. My glove was more straight and other ones was more to second base. So I stopped doing that too, which is a setup position for all my pitches. That's helped me a lot this year.

"The Yankees had two great guys there, guys who know a lot about tipping," the 30-year-old continued. "They pulled me out of a couple innings, but it's really hard to do those things when you are in the [middle of the] season. So I was working on it, but when you go out there and the competition kicks in, you forget about everything."

Luis Severino on his pitch tipping issue here. Sevy on everything was wonderful.

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— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 23, 2024

Based on Severino's comments, it's clear that he needed to fix these issues during the offseason instead of in the middle of the year. Tipping pitches are typically habitual, and breaking those habits are something that is done gradually instead of immediately. As a result, Severino couldn't make these adjustments to salvage his 2023 season, leading to his departure from the Yankees; after signing with the Mets, he had plenty of time to work on his tipping issues and would eventually get rid of them entirely before the 2024 season began.

The Mets' coaching staff deserves some credit for helping Severino solve this problem, but this is moreso a reflection on the righty's exceptional work ethic; when combined with his efforts to stay healthy, Severino has finally been able to demonstrate his amazing talent on the mound, and the Mets are reaping the benefits.

Time will tell whether the nine-year veteran can sustain his current form. But if he does, New York should prioritize keeping him around beyond 2024.