Luis Severino Leaves Yankees for the Mets in Free Agency
On Wednesday, the New York Mets and right-hander Luis Severino agreed to a one-year 13-million-dollar contract. The Mets are in desperate need of some solid pitching, and despite Severino’s rough 2023 season, New York decided to give him a deal. Luis spent the first eight years of his career with the Yankees, where he showed that if he was healthy, he could be a highly effective pitcher. This is the first move the Mets have made to reestablish their pitching rotation, after losing Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in trades back in July, and while the Mets' other two pitchers Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana have some questions going forward.
Severino had a very disappointing 2023 season. In 18 starts he posted a 4-8 record, and through 89 innings on the mound, Luis posted a 6.65 ERA with 79 strikeouts. His worst start of 2023 was on July 30th in a 9-3 loss against the Baltimore Orioles. Luis gave up nine runs on ten hits through three and one-third innings. His best start was a month later August 28th in a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Severino pitched seven innings allowing just five hits, while striking out eight batters in the win. Throughout his eight-year career, Severino has posted a 54-37 record with a lifetime ERA of 3.79 along with 788 strikeouts. Severino suffered various shoulder injuries in 2019 which limited him to just three stars. In 2020, and in most of 2021, Sevy missed most if not the entire regular season due to recovering from Tommy John surgery. He hopes to make an impact with the Mets and have a turnaround season in 2024.
The free agent market has set its price on veteran starting pitchers around ten million dollars, Severino’s success in the past is why he landed a one-year 13-million-dollar deal with New York. Luis now with a one-year deal has an opportunity to bounce back and reenter the market next offseason, hoping to get a long-term deal if he excels. The Mets will certainly look to add more reinforcements to their pitching rotation. Japanese free agent Yoshinobu Yamamato has caught the Mets' eyes, along with Shohei Ohtani although he won’t be pitching in 2024. If the New York Mets can land one if not both of these players, their roster will look quite scary heading into Spring Training.
