Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Luis Severino Passes First Test Since Soreness Scare

Luis Severino threw 31 pitches on Wednesday in a bullpen rather than his scheduled start against the Blue Jays.

Max Goodman

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TAMPA — When Luis Severino woke up on Saturday morning feeling soreness in his right arm, the right-hander was worried.

Severino had made his second outing of spring training the previous afternoon, throwing 49 pitches in an exhibition game against the Phillies. 

With his injury history in mind, as he continues to work back to full strength from Tommy John surgery, Severino was unsure if he was headed down a similar path.

As of now, however, the right-hander can breath a sigh of relief. Severino threw a 31-pitch bullpen at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Wednesday afternoon, using all of his pitches. 

Shortly after his session in the bullpen, the starter reported that everything went well, providing some more information as to what he was feeling a few days prior.

"I woke up with general soreness. I was real tight more than normal," Severino told reporters in the Yankees' clubhouse. "It got better the next day and the day after that."

Manager Aaron Boone still isn't concerned about the minor injury scare.

"We just wanted to give it a couple extra days," he said right before Severino took the mound on Wednesday.

The plan is for Severino to make his third and final start of Grapefruit League play on Saturday. That will line him up to pitch in the second game of the regular season on April 9. Gerrit Cole will take the ball on Opening Day two days before that. 

Severino wasn't sure exactly how many pitches he'll be throwing on Saturday against the Braves. He's under the impression that his pitch count will be equal to or exceed the number of pitches he threw his last time out. 

That means he'll be built up to, say, 50 or 60 pitches before his regular season debut. That's not ideal, but in this abbreviated spring training, his mindset is to be ready to make his first regular season start and give it all he's got when he's out there. 

If everything goes according to plan, April 9 will be Severino's first regular season start since September 28, 2019.

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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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