A Mets player have already agreed to a potential trade offer with the Yankees.
He has improved a lot—showing a 3.48 ERA in nine starts over 51 2/3 innings—and with the Mets’ weak 21-25 start, it looks like they won’t compete much this season. This could make Severino a valuable player to trade by the July 30 deadline.
In a talk with ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian about the strong Yankees possibly looking for another starting pitcher, Buster Olney mentioned Severino as a good match.
“So there’s an interesting name sort of developing there … but I saw Luis Severino (on May 12). Tim, he’s better than he was, like he’s getting better,” Olney said on the “Baseball Tonight” podcast. “I told him, I said you might be like Nathan Eovalidi, where you’re like one of those guys who had a great arm in the first part of your career, but then as time goes on, you learn how to put it together. Eovaldi, as you know, went from being sort of this Iron Mike guy who went from throwing 100 miles per hour … to now being a good and savvy pitcher in terms of movement and moving the ball around.
Just after my conversation with Severino, I think he could be that guy. So I wonder if that might be a guy the Yankees target because he knows how to pitch in New York.”
Without Gerrit Cole, the Yankees have a strong record of 33-15 and the third-best ERA in baseball at 3.00. Although pitching isn’t an issue for them, teams always welcome more capable pitchers.
The Mets made a smart early move in the offseason by signing Severino to a one-year, $13 million contract, seeing him as a fixable pitcher with potential. In 2017-18, Severino was among the best pitchers in baseball, getting Cy Young votes both years and coming in third in 2017 with a 2.98 ERA over 193 1/3 innings. He also did well in 2018 with 191 1/3 innings and a 3.39 ERA.
However, his health, availability, and effectiveness have declined since then. From 2019-23, Severino only pitched 209 1/3 innings. In 2023, he had his worst year with a 6.65 ERA in 89 1/3 innings.
This season, Severino has been more solid than spectacular. Although his fastball still averages 95.9 mph, he now uses a power sinker along with his four-seam fastball, which has led to a career-high 55.8% ground ball rate. Yet, he has struggled with control, having his highest walk rate of 10.5% in any season where he’s started at least nine games. His strikeout rate is also lower than usual at 20.1%, slightly up from last year’s 18.9%. His expected ERA is 3.74, and his FIP is 3.97.
“They would bring him back,” Kurkjian said. “Sure, they would bring him back.
