Luis Severino and the New York Yankees are scheduled to go to arbitration, but that might change sooner rather than later.
Spring Training is upon us, but New York Yankees’ ace Luis Severino has yet to sign a new deal and now we might know why thanks Fancred’s Jon Heyman.
Heyman reported the Yankees and Severino are in the process of negotiating a contract extension, but nothing seems to be close at the moment.
Yankees and Luis Severino have had extension talks, as well, but no word they are close yet. Sevy’s scheduled arb hearing has yet to be heard.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 13, 2019
This line of thinking is a little different for the Yankees and general manager Brian Cashman who rarely discuss extensions before the season. They are notorious for letting their own hit the free agent market and work from there like he did with Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Andy Pettitte.
Despite the philosophy of waiting until free agency to extend roster players, extending Severino at this point in time should be an absolute no brainer for Cashman and the Yankees. The 24-year-old starter has already established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball accumulating 33 wins in the last two seasons alone.
While 2018 was a tale of two seasons for Severino, the Yankees know he can be the guy who can put a team on his back when need be. Look no further than the 384.2 innings he’s pitched in the last two seasons along with his 450 strikeouts. Pure dominance.
If there is any blemish on Severino’s track record thus far in his short career, it is his playoff record. He’s pitched to a career 6.26 ERA in the postseason in 22 innings, and no one can forget 2019’s postseason when he was chased after three innings allowing six earned runs against Boston.
While the numbers aren’t pretty in the postseason, you have to recognize Severino is still young and was in his second career postseason. As he gets older and more experienced, those numbers should improve.
