As if the New York Yankees were not yet sick and tired of the injury bug chasing them into the 2020 season, news of Luis Severino’s arm injury being much worse than it was first expected to be makes for a much more difficult start to the franchise’s Spring Training.
After being shut down last week for what was deemed to be right forearm soreness, it was discovered on Feb. 25 that the injury to Severino’s arm was actually a partial tear in his right arm’s ulnar collateral ligament, which will require Tommy John surgery and a loss of the entire 2020 season, including the postseason.
A tough break for Luis Severino, who was on the shelf last season from Opening Day until September and was being looked at as a great compliment to stud free-agent signee, Gerrit Cole. For the Yankees, their plans moving forward for their entire roster and not just for their starting rotation looks to have gotten a bit murkier.
For starters, their rotation has lost Severino for the entire season, lefty James Paxton until around May or June after recently undergoing back surgery, and Domingo German is out for the first 62 games of the regular season as he finishes up serving his suspension from the MLB for having violated the domestic violence policy of the league.
Their depth, which was severely challenged already last season, will yet again be pushed to its limits to begin the year. Left-hander Jordan Montgomery should be one of the most likely candidates to replace some of the lost production, and other options, like Jonathan Loaisiga, Michael King, and Deivi Garcia, among others, should factor into the equation as well.
Of the three likely options, Loaisiga has the most major-league experience under his belt, having appeared in 15 games in 2019, with four of those appearances being starts. In total, his 24 games and 8 starts is obviously a small sample size, but it still helps nonetheless when trying to predict what type of impact he could have on the big-league roster in an expanded role.
King is currently the Yankees’ 19th-rated prospect in their top-heavy system, and after missing most of the season last year with a stress fracture, he was able to make his MLB debut with the Pinstripes, playing in a victory over the Texas Rangers in September 2019. His fastball projects as his best pitch, and his control has been listed as being one of the best in the entire farm system for New York.
Given the label as having one of the highest ceilings in the Bronx Bombers system, he may not have the inside track to claiming a starting rotation role, but he should be able to slide into the bullpen as a long-relief profile reliever with the opportunity to match fellow reliever Chad Green in spot starts or opening games.
For Garcia, his best-prospect label in the team’s system does not come cheaply, and his 65-grade curveball and 60-grade fastball speaks for itself, even if it does lend itself more to helping Garcia become a reliever down the road instead of a starter. Garcia has not yet made his MLB debut, but with how he has climbed through the minor leagues, including having played on three separate levels last season alone, Garcia is looking like it will be very likely in 2020 when he debuts at the highest level.
While Loaisiga may have the most MLB experience, that should not necessarily discount the efforts that both King and Garcia will make during Spring Training to make the big-league roster. If they are looking to solidify the back of their rotation with a proven entity, then yes, Loaisiga is the way to go – but if the team is looking to try and take a fresh approach to it while leaving all options open to build their best roster, then all three options can help them win games in some sort of fashion.
The Luis Severino injury is obviously not something that the Yankees wanted to have to deal with, especially this early in the season, but the health of outfielder Aaron Judge is a bit of a concern too. While most star players do not play all that much in Spring Training, the fact that he has not yet suited up due to a nagging shoulder injury is a whole nother issue in itself.
Back injuries can plague even the best in the sport and rob them of their power stroke, as we have seen with the likes of Ryan Braun, Christian Yelich, and others while in the primes of their careers. With Judge, the torque that he requires to put such a powerful swing on the ball makes it tough to use a crucial launch angle to hit his typical long balls.
Giancarlo Stanton only played in 18 games last year and 159 in 2018, so he has only stepped on the diamond for 177 games over two seasons for the Yankees – and oh, he still has eight seasons left (including 2020) on his current deal of $26+ million (three seasons of $32 million each), with a club option of $25 million in 2028 when he is in his age-38 season.
All of those ugly money numbers, combined with a full no-trade clause and a very busy injury history, and the numbers all add up to a very poor investment choice made by the Yankees when they acquired Stanton from the Miami Marlins back in 2017.
While Stanton’s checkered health report is more of a monetary concern that continues to rear its ugly head in what feels like every season, the injury concerns that have been plaguing Severino this past two seasons lend itself to being more of a worry for the Yankees in general. Offensive numbers can always be found in different spots on the roster, but solid starting pitching cannot, not without giving up valuable assets to acquire it.
The Yankees have the resources to get through the injury concerns that are already plaguing them, yet the season-ending injury to Luis Severino presents a much bigger issue for New York that, if not properly addressed, could become the nail in the World Series coffin for this team in 2020.
Follow Us
Subscribe