Yanks 'the only team, the only family' Sevy knows

TAMPA, Fla. -- Five springs ago, when the Yankees secured Luis Severino's signature on a contract extension one week before the right-hander’s 25th birthday, the deal appeared to be a no-brainer. There was excitement; fresh off back-to-back All-Star appearances, one of the American League’s most electric starting pitchers was staying put for the foreseeable future.

The life of that agreement has not gone as either party envisioned, and now they approach a critical juncture. The 2023 season may represent Severino’s final opportunity to prove that he can recapture that form over an entire campaign, which is why every ounce of his preparation goes toward completing a healthy season.

"This is the only team, the only family that I know," Severino said. "Of course, I want to spend the rest of my life wearing this uniform. It’s going to be a negotiation; it’s going to be part of the game. You go to free agency, there’s going to be more teams [involved], but of course I want to finish my career here."

Severino made his Grapefruit League debut on Monday evening, working two-plus innings in the Yankees’ 8-5 victory over the Tigers at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Though Severino was knocked for four runs and three hits, including a long Eric Haase homer that struck the center-field batter’s eye, the hurler attributed that mainly to a slider that he rated as “terrible.”

For Severino, the important takeaway from the outing -- like all of his trips to the mound over the past several years -- is that he came out throwing hard and feeling strong.

"When he’s going, he can shut down a really elite offense," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Severino threw 45 pitches (30 for strikes), including 27 fastballs that averaged 96 mph and touched 97.7 mph, the type of performance that prompted Gerrit Cole to say that Severino seems to be operating with “some wild-horse characteristics to him … a lot of horsepower.”

"I wasn’t even trying to throw that hard," said Severino, who attributes an energy boost to an improved diet that helped him shed 15 pounds this offseason. "I was just trying to make a couple of pitches. It feels really good to know that I’m up there [velocity-wise]."

In February 2019, Severino agreed to a four-year, $40 million extension that included a club option for the '23 season, seemingly a deft move for both sides. But Severino’s injury problems began almost immediately; he dealt with right rotator cuff inflammation and a lat strain that year, then needed Tommy John surgery in the spring of '20.

Rehab from that procedure and a subsequent groin injury kept him out of action for most of '21, and though he was sidelined again by a lat strain last season, Severino was able to post a 7-3 record with a 3.18 ERA in 19 regular season starts.

"Even though he had a pause in the middle of the season with the injury, he still got over 100 innings, which I think is important moving forward this year," Boone said. "Hopefully, he can have that full season where he puts it all together. I feel like he’s in a position to do that. I feel like mentally, physically, everything’s in position for that to happen."

When Severino asked the Yankees for permission to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, general manager Brian Cashman declined, explaining, “We’ve lost him too many times along the way. He’s too important for us.”

Severino did not love that, but he understood, saying: "I want to be out there. I want to throw innings."

As he eyes a starting rotation that projects to include Cole, Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes, plus the victor of the Domingo Germán-Clarke Schmidt battle for the No. 5 starter role, Severino believes it is "the most powerful rotation I’ve ever been in."

It’s a group he desperately wants to be a part of -- now, through the rest of the season, and beyond.

"If we can all be healthy for one full year, it’s going to be amazing to watch," Severino said.