Sevy trades friendly barbs with Yanks: 'You only have 2 good hitters'

3:28 AM UTC

It looks like we don’t get to see face his former team in an epic Subway Series revenge showdown -- but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some sparks flying.

Severino is in his first season with the Mets, after beginning his career with the Yankees and being a two-time All-Star selection during his stint in the Bronx from 2015-23. When the Mets swept the Yankees in a two-game set at home from June 25-26, Severino didn’t see the mound against his former team, having thrown six shutout innings on June 23 against the Cubs.

With the Mets and Yankees facing each other for their second and final series this season from July 23-24, there was one more opportunity for Severino to take the mound against his old teammates. But the Mets announced that Severino would start on July 20 against the Marlins, effectively ending the chances of him throwing any pitches at Yankee Stadium next week.

End of story, right? Not exactly.

In an interview with SNY TV, Severino revealed that there’s been some strong banter in the aftermath of the Mets’ revealing their rotation’s schedule, with both himself and his former teammates firing away.

“We have a group chat of guys. … They talk [trash] about me, they say, 'Oh, you’re afraid of us,'” said Severino, who is 6-3 with a 3.78 ERA this season. “I’m not afraid. Right now, you only have two good hitters. I can walk those two guys. It’s always friendly competition with players I’ve already played with. It’s going to be fun, and hopefully in the future I can face them.”

Fighting fire with fire, Yankees manager Aaron Boone responded when he caught wind of Severino’s comments.

“We’ll see where the dust settles when we’re all said and done. Add it all up, we’ve taken our lumps at times, but I think we’re at the top of the league in runs scored,” said Boone, who was correct about the Yankees entering Friday with an MLB-best 4.98 runs per game. “I saw the way Sevy said it, and it was kind of whatever -- hopefully we can answer him.”

Let the games begin.