The New York Yankees suffered another blow on Thursday with the news that starting pitcher Luis Severino has been shut down with right forearm tightness.
The New York Yankees are coming off an injury plagued season in 2019 and had high hopes that this season would not repeat itself. At this point in the off-season, it’s definitely looking good.
The first blow came with the news that James Paxton is out for a while after having back surgery. Now today news has come out that Luis Severino has been shut down with right forearm tightness.
Severino is the unquestioned ace of the Yankees rotation when healthy. Unfortunately he is coming off a season where he only had three regular season starts and made two postseason starts.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone mentioned that Severino has been suffering from this tightness since his last start. That last start came in the ALCS against the Houston Astros. That’s not good when it has lasted this long.
Severino, when healthy has been as dominant a pitcher as anyone, going 42-36 in five seasons with a 3.46 ERA and 589 strikeouts. Not only that, but the Yankees recently signed him to a 4-year extension, worth $44 million.
This is a huge blow to the team. In a matter of two months they have lost their No. 1 and No. 2 starting pitchers. Depending on the diagnosis, Severino could possibly be ready for Opening Day, but it’s not looking too likely at this point.
While they were able to withstand the injuries last season because of their potent offense, it’s never a guaranteed thing for the offense to hum along like it did last season. Odds are that it will with the majority of the team still intact.
The New York Yankees will be able to weather this storm of injuries, but any more preseason injuries could spell doom for the Bronx Bombers and we’re not even out of February.