New York Yankees: Sending Luis Severino to Minors is Right Call

By Nick Ziegler | May 31, 2016

May 13, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino (40) leaves the game in the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Yankees have activated Luis Severino from the disabled list, but he won’t be joining the major league rotation.

Instead of rejoining the New York Yankees’ rotation, Luis Severino will be heading to Triple-A to hopefully figure some things out. After a great 2015 season in both the majors and the minors, Severino has been a disappointment this season for the Yankees and was one of the reasons why they got off to a slow start.

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Last season, Severino totaled a 5-3 record, 2.89 ERA, and 1.20 WHIP in 11 starts. After the strong debut in 2015, the Yankees had high expectations for Severino in 2016, as they hoped he would develop into their No.2 starter behind Masahiro Tanaka.

Coming into the season Severino was the only starter in the rotation that didn’t have an injury in 2015. Injuries was a major concern coming into the season for the Yankees’ rotation, and they have had some issues so far. Both Severino and CC Sabathia have been on the disabled list already this season, but luckily there hasn’t been a major injury.

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Despite a lot of hype, Severino has struggled for the Yankees prior to his injury, as he has totaled a 0-6 record, 7.46 ERA, and 1.69 WHIP. The Yankees have received a solid performance so far this season from Ivan Nova, who originally moved into the rotation to fill in for Sabathia, and then stayed in the rotation for Severino.

So far this season, Nova has totaled a 3-2 record, 3.65 ERA, and 1.14 WHIP. The pitching from Nova has made it impossible for the Yankees to remove him from the rotation, but there was some speculation that the Yankees could take Michael Pineda out of the rotation because of his struggles.

Like Severino, Pineda has been a disappointment for the Yankees this season, as he has totaled a 2-6 record, 6.92 ERA, and 1.65 WHIP. Pineda is also clearly struggling this season, but moving Severino back to the minor is a far less blow to his ego than it would be to send Pineda down.

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While it isn’t ideal for Severino to be sent back to the minors, this will hopefully give him a chance to regain his confidence and work on his mechanics with hurting the Yankees’ rotation. The Yankees have been playing very well in May, as they started to find their groove after the poor start to the season. Starting pitching is one of the reasons why the Yankees have been playing better lately, as most pitchers are giving them solid performances.

It might not be what the organization planned on doing at any point this season, but moving Severino to the minors is the right call.

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