Inside The Pinstripes

Luis Severino Lands on Injured List; What it Means For Yankees

Severino exited his start on Wednesday night before the third inning, leaving the game with right shoulder tightness.

Max Goodman

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NEW YORK — Luis Severino has returned to the injured list.

After exiting his start on Wednesday night after just two innings pitched, the right-hander has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a low grade right lat strain, the Yankees announced on Thursday afternoon.

Ryan Weber replaced Severino on the active roster, called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Reliever Jonathan Loáisiga was also activated on Thursday, returning from his shoulder injury—he replaced lefty JP Sears, who was optioned after Wednesday night's victory in extra innings. 

Severino woke up on Wednesday feeling tightness in his shoulder, hoping it would loosen up throughout the day leading up to first pitch that evening. After two innings of work, and four runs allowed (including back-to-back-to-back home runs in the second), Severino pulled the plug, walking off the field while warming up before the third frame.

READ: Luis Severino Details Shoulder Injury; How Concerned Should Yankees Be?

The team later announced that Severino left Wednesday's game with right shoulder tightness. After an MRI on Thursday morning, his injury was characterized as a lat strain. In 2019, Severino missed nearly the entire season after sustaining a Grade 2 lat strain (along with rotator cuff inflammation).

"Yesterday coming out of the game, something was not feeling right," Severino recalled on Thursday, still awaiting the results of his MRI. "Waking up that day, the shoulder was not feeling normal. Why push it? Why push it now? So I'll have a couple days and then hopefully I'll be good."

The expectation is that Severino will miss a few starts on the IL. He wasn't scheduled to pitch again until after the All-Star break, but this allows New York to replace him and add a reinforcement to the pitching staff until he returns. 

Depending on how much time Severino needs to miss, New York can use both internal and external options to bridge the gap and keep the rotation afloat. 

Domingo Germán has one more scheduled rehab assignment start—with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday—before he's ready to make his 2022 debut with the Yankees. Sears and Clarke Schmidt are both capable of starting games as well, stretching out with the RailRiders over the last few months. 

If general manager Brian Cashman wants, he can attack the starting pitcher market before next month's deadline. Names like Cincinnati's Luis Castillo, Oakland's Frankie Montas and more have been linked to the Yankees. Other second-tier arms could do the trick as well, costing New York fewer prospects to acquire. 

Either way, with Severino's injury history, the Yankees can only hope this doesn't derail Severino's season. When healthy, the right-hander can be an electric asset near the top of New York's rotation, a pitcher that could play a key role in the playoffs. Leading up to Wednesday's outing, Severino had a 3.11 ERA in 15 starts, striking out 94 batters in 86 frames. 

This team still needs to keep a close eye on Severino even when he does return from this lat strain, though. The starter is in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, already throwing almost five times as many frames as he threw from 2019 to 2021.

That in mind, factoring in Nestor Cortes' workload and Jameson Taillon's recent struggles, maybe the Yankees should trade for a starting pitcher regardless of how long Severino is on the IL.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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