There’s no way around it — Yankees hurler Luis Severino is having a tough time right now. His struggles continued on Wednesday in Chicago. After taking a quick look at his pitch splits, Sevy isn’t getting relief regardless of what he’s throwing.
Instead of starting New York’s rubber-game matchup against the White Sox, Severino came in via relief to be the “bulk pitcher”. Clearly, the Yankees are trying to find ways to put him in the best possible position to succeed and create positive momentum.
That didn’t happen. The White Sox touched Sevy up for four runs on five hits, one walk, and two strikeouts in two innings. His season-long ERA is now up at 8.06 while his WHIP is 1.89. He’s allowed 21 earned runs over his last four appearances, which span 15 innings.
After this latest dud, I wondered which pitch (or pitches) of Sevy’s were getting hammered the most. As it turns out, they all are.
Let’s provide some perspective here. Through 102 innings in 2022, here’s how each of Severino’s pitches performed (had to throw it at least 80 times):
- Four-seam fastball: .622 OPS, 87 wRC+
- Slider: .560, 73
- Changeup: .673, 105
- Cutter: .505, 58
And here’s how those same pitches have performed thus far in 2023 (in 63.2 innings):
- Four-seam fastball: 1.154 OPS, 225 wRC+
- Slider: .965, 178
- Changeup: .787, 127
- Cutter: .732, 122
Yea, that’s not great, Bob. Sevy’s struggles already weren’t something New York wanted to deal with. Thanks to Carlos Rodon heading back to the injured list this week, the problem is more magnified than it already was.
With New York’s loss and a win by the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday, the Yankees are back in last place in the AL East. They’re 11.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles and 5.5 games back of the final AL Wild Card spot. After dropping two of three to the White Sox, this continues to not feel like a squad that can turn things around and make the postseason.
After a breather on Thursday, the Bombers start a three-game set in Miami against the Marlins before three more in Atlanta vs. the Braves. We’ll see how many more “Fire Cashman” signs will be seen while manager Aaron Boone’s club tries to get on a roll.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
