The New York Yankees received a significant blow on Tuesday as it was announced that their starting pitcher Luis Severino of Sabana de la Mar, Dominican Republic is going to need Tommy John Surgery according to the New York Post. When Tommy John surgery is mentioned, it almost always requires a long term recovery time, and Severino is expected to miss the entire 2020 Major League Baseball regular season.
Severino first started to feel some pain in the 2019 American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros. Severino pitched game three of the series, in a 4-1 Yankees loss to the Astros. In four and a third innings pitched, Severino gave up five hits, two earned runs, three walks and two home runs, to go along with six strikeouts. He also had the fortune of pitching against the Astros at Yankee Stadium instead of Minute Maid Park, so the Astros were not using technology to steal the Yankees signs.
Severino missed most of the 2029 Major League Baseball regular season with rotator cuff inflammation in his right shoulder and a grade two lat strain. The injuries forced Severino to only pitch three games during the regular season. In 12 innings, Severino had a record of one win and one loss, an earned run average of 1.50, a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.00, and only allowed six hits, two earned runs and six walks to go alongside 17 strikeouts.
In 2017 and 2018, Severino was an all-star in each season and won a combined total of 33 games. The Yankees will be hoping Severino returns to that form after his surgery.
Severino is not the only Yankees starting pitcher who has an ailment. James Paxton of Delta, British Columbia, Canada is also expected to miss the start of the year after recovering from back surgery. The Yankees pitchers who are projected to start the 2020 season in the starting rotation are newly acquired Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ.
