Yankees’ Pitching Depth Is Already Proving Crucial, but It Will Cost Them

The Yankees won 103 games last season without Severino, who dealt with a shoulder ailment and a mysterious latissimus dorsi injury. His current elbow injury has also been puzzling because the discomfort has been intermittent and has appeared only when he throws his changeup, one of his three pitches.

Minor soreness first appeared following Severino’s start against the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in October, but it disappeared quickly. While at home in the Dominican Republic in early December, Severino felt renewed soreness, and the Yankees flew him to New York, where a magnetic resonance imaging examination revealed no issues.

When the discomfort re-emerged after Severino began throwing, the Yankees again brought Severino to New York. Again, Cashman said, a second M.R.I. plus a CT scan showed no problems.

Severino, 26, was throwing in spring training without pain until he tried his changeup in recent days, and the soreness returned. So the Yankees shut Severino down, gave him more anti-inflammatories and the team doctor recommended more extensive tests in New York.

The Yankees couldn’t rule out if a “loose body,” often a bone fragment, in Severino’s elbow was the cause. The team had long known of its presence in Severino’s arm, including last February when they signed him to a four-year, $40-million extension, but he had yet to show any negative symptoms.

Cashman said active, healthy pitchers sometimes have loose bodies in their arms, and only require surgery when it manifests itself as a problem. Severino, who appeared in just three games last year, is hoping for positive news soon.

“I just want to play baseball,” Severino said. “I just want to pitch.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/21/sports/baseball/yankees-pitchers-luis-severino.html