The New York Yankees and their ace, Luis Severino, avoided arbitration after agreeing to a multi-year contract extension.
The New York Yankees and ace Luis Severino avoided arbitration Friday after agreeing to a contract extension.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Severino has agreed to a four-year, $40 million extension pending a physical. The deal also holds an option for a fifth year. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported it being worth $15 million.
Severino gets $40M for 4 yrs guaranteed with an option. #Yankees
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 15, 2019
Source: Luis Severino's fifth year option is for $15 million.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 15, 2019
Severino, who turns 25 next week, has spent the last two years establishing himself as the bona fide ace of the Yankees’ pitching staff. The young righty has made 63 starts over that stretch and is 33-18 with a 3.18 ERA. Severino is also a two-time All-Star and finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2017.
Luis Severino’s contract comes on the heels of the Philadelphia Phillies signing Aaron Nola to a similar extension. Nola, who turned 25 last season, just received a four-year, $45 million contract with a $16 million option for a fifth.
Now, Luis Severino will go out and look to prove last year’s second-half slump was a fluke. After going 14-2 with a 2.31 ERA in the first half, Severino struggled and stumbled to go 5-6 with a 5.57 ERA after the All-Star break. It has since been determined he was tipping his pitches, which is fixable with coaching.
That aside, Severino deserves this extension in spite of his rough second half. I even wrote a piece exploring the possibility. He still won 19 games and pitched four strong innings against the Oakland A’s in the AL Wild Card Game.
Now, with New York coming off a 100-win season, look for Severino to be fully locked in, especially since his future is now secured.
