Severino injures right groin in rehab start
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The Yankees may have to wait longer for Luis Severino's return to a Major League mound.
The rehabbing right-hander had to be helped off the field Saturday afternoon with a right groin injury. Severino is scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday to determine the severity of the injury.
"I don’t know many details or anything; I was just told he left the start," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the club's 8-7, 10-inning loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
Pitching for High-A Hudson Valley at Brooklyn, Severino came off the mound awkwardly following a second-inning offering, crouching behind the mound as members of the Renegades' staff clustered around him.
A few moments later, Severino walked gingerly and with obvious discomfort, seemingly unable to place weight on his right leg. There had been optimism that Severino could rejoin the big league rotation in late June or early July; that timetable now figures to be delayed.
Saturday marked Severino's second rehab outing as he works his way back to the Majors following Tommy John surgery he underwent on Feb. 27, 2020. He allowed one run on two hits over 2 2/3 innings for Low-A Tampa on Sunday in his first rehab start.
An American League All-Star in 2017 and '18, Severino has pitched in five games since signing a four-year, $40 million contract extension in February 2019. He was limited to three regular-season starts in '19 due to right rotator cuff inflammation and a subsequent lat strain. Severino made two appearances that October, last facing big league competition in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Astros.
A Severino setback could increase urgency for general manager Brian Cashman to acquire a starting pitcher before the July Trade Deadline. One start after tossing the Yankees' first no-hitter of the century, right-hander Corey Kluber landed on the injured list with a right shoulder strain and is out indefinitely, while right-hander Jameson Taillon could not complete the first inning on Saturday in Philadelphia.