Boone won't 'speculate' on Severino's return

NEW YORK -- A second opinion on Luis Severino’s right shoulder revealed no structural damage, but manager Aaron Boone said the right-hander won’t throw this week as he lets the tightness in his shoulder calm down.

Severino’s MRI results were sent to Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a noted orthopedist and the Dodgers’ team physician. Boone said there’s a chance the pitcher will visit ElAttrache in person when the Yankees head to the West Coast.

“I think, overall, it was pretty good news from an MRI standpoint, it's just a matter of wanting to get Sevy with him when we're out on the West Coast -- an in-person physical, hands-on appointment as well,” Boone said. “In the meantime, we're just kind of working on him and seeing at what point he would be able to start throwing again.”

Boone would not rule out the idea of Severino building up his arm strength prior to the end of the season, though any discussions about his role are on hold until he begins to throw again.

“I don't want to speculate because I don't know when he's throwing a ball and I don't know when he's back on the mound and where we're starting from,” Boone said. “It would probably be silly of me to speculate on that. If he's throwing a ball by Monday and ramping up by then, we'll just see.”

Day off for D.J.

D.J. LeMahieu was out of the lineup for the series opener against the Twins on Thursday, though Boone said there was no physical issue preventing the infielder from playing.

“Just a day off for him,” Boone said. “He's been grinding pretty hard through this stretch, so I kind of targeted this day early in the week; try and get through the [Tuesday] doubleheader and [Wednesday] and then have him down today.”

LeMahieu had appeared in all 18 of the Yankees’ games in August, starting the past 17. He’s slashing .288/.373/.397 with eight RBIs this month.