Less than a week after the New York Yankees shut down starter Luis Severino with forearm discomfort, the team announced that the right-hander now needs Tommy John surgery.
Severino was scratched from throwing his second bullpen session in camp last week and didn’t take part in pitchers’ fielding drills. After the workout, manager Aaron Boone said Severino had been dealing with forearm discomfort that started after Game 3 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros.
The Yankees will already be without pitcher James Paxton through at least April after the lefty underwent a procedure to remove a cyst as well as a microscopic lumbar surgery.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said last week Severino had two MRIs — one in December and another in January — and a CT scan after complaining of discomfort, and all tests had been negative. But the Yankees sent him for further testing.
In January, Severino was treated with anti-inflammatories and said he felt fine, Boone said. Testing revealed a “loose body” near his elbow, which the team believes is an incidental unrelated finding. Once Severino ramped up his throwing program this spring, he stayed away from his changeup.
Severino, who turned 26 on Thursday, didn’t pitch in the majors until September of last year after spending most of the season on the IL because of injuries to his right rotator cuff and lat muscle. He made three starts.
The two-time All-Star was coming off his best season in 2018 when he went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA and 220 strikeouts in 191.1 innings.
Severino signed a four-year, $40 million extension almost exactly a year ago, but he has thrown just 20.1 innings since then.
Information from ESPN’s Marly Rivera was used in this report.