Jupiter, Florida — Friday, Luis Severino returned for one final pitch to cap off an effective outing.
The 98-mph four-seamer, Severino’s fastest pitch of the afternoon, was foul-pitched into Omar Narvaez’s mitt by Matt Carpenter, capping the veteran right-hander’s first Grapefruit League outing with the Mets.
On a day when the Mets fell short of the Cardinals 3-2 at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, Severino stated, “I had something in the tank because I was waiting for the perfect time to do it.”
Severino allowed just one hit and no runs to be scored in two shutout innings.
After second baseman Yolmer Sanchez made a throwing error to begin the game, he gave up his lone base runner.
Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and manager Carlos Mendoza offered Severino the chance to train in a minor league game, but the former All-Star felt he wanted to face MLB opposition. For Severino, it was another step forward in his development.
With players like Dylan Carlson, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, and Nolan Arenado on show, the Cardinals lineup was also quite strong.
With his four-seamer, Severino averaged 96 mph, which was consistent with what the Mets had witnessed in his live batting practice sessions.
“I was pretty pleased with the way he was using all of his pitches,” Mendoza stated.
This offseason, the Mets strengthened their rotation with three new pitchers, and Severino, 30, may have the greatest ceiling of them all.
That is, however, assuming the Mets are able to keep him in the pen to post every fifth or sixth day.
The other two recent additions to the rotation are Adrian Houser and Sean Manaea.
There were doubts regarding this rotation even prior to Kodai Senga’s shoulder ailment, which will keep the Mets ace on the injured list until May.
The sound is much louder now.
Will Severino take on more work now that Senga is out injured?
Speaking for myself, I think we have a lot of men, but [Senga] is incredibly excellent, so there might be some pressure. “We have [Jose] Butto, who commands everything and has a fantastic fastball. We have [Tylor] Megill, who has been fantastic, so all I need to do is stay well and be active, and everything will work out.
With the Yankees, Severino started working on a sinker last season and aims to add it to his repertoire along with a cutter, slider, changeup, and four-seamer.
Eleven of Severino’s thirty pitches throughout the outing were sinkers.
