Yankees, Luis Severino Agree to Guaranteed 4-Year/$40 Million Deal

The New York Yankees and Luis Severino have agreed on a contract extension. What does this mean for both the Yanks and the ace?

In another twist this offseason, on Friday the New York Yankees and Luis Severino announced that they have agreed to a contract extension worth 4-years/$40M. The deal includes a fifth year, according to Mark Feinsand.

Severino, who established himself as the ace of the staff last season, entered arbitration for the first time this year. In a smart move by the Yankees front office, perhaps after seeing that just about every player on the planet is winning their arbitration cases, they decided to enter into extension talks with the young starting pitcher.

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As a result, both Severino and the Yanks agreed to avoid arbitration altogether and signed the 4-year deal. Four years is exactly the amount of time Sevy is arbitration eligible.

The deal is good for both parties. For Severino, he’s guaranteed to receive $10M each season until 2023 no matter what happens. He can completely focus on his pitching abilities and staying healthy, instead of entering arbitration hearings for the next four years.

For the Yankees, they get to avoid the same arbitration system that just awarded Trevor Bauer $13M this, his third year of arbitration eligibility.

The question now becomes: What about Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez?

Both players will become arbitration eligible for the first time in 2020 and, barring a devastating injury, will command a lot of money in arbitration. Take for example Mookie Betts, in his first year in arbitration, the MVP received a record-breaking $10.5M. After another phenomenal campaign this past season, Mookie’s received a $10M raise, a record in arbitration. That’s $20.5M.

You’d have to imagine that Aaron Judge would command something similar to Betts next year, and if Gary Sanchez rebounds this season, he’s sure to get paid too.

So, will the Yankees make this a trend and lock up their young stars before arbitration?

We’ll have to wait and see.