TAMPA, Fla. — Luis Severino, one of the Yankees’ most talented pitchers, will require Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm, a significant blow to the rotation of a team with hopes of a World Series title this year.
Severino had been struggling with intermittent discomfort in his right forearm since October, when he made two postseason starts for the Yankees. He had multiple rounds of tests in New York over the winter, but no clear problem was discovered.
He was prescribed rest and medication, and he experienced no issues while throwing in spring training at the team’s facility here in Tampa, Fla., until recently.
The discomfort returned when he began throwing his changeup again. The Yankees on Sunday sent him back to their doctors and specialists in New York for three days of testing. On Tuesday, the team announced the need for Tommy John surgery, which would replace the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
The Yankees were counting on Severino to help form a stout rotation along with Gerrit Cole, Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton. To shore up their rotation, which was arguably their biggest weakness last season, the Yankees signed Cole to a record nine year $324-million deal this off-season.
Last season, Severino made only three regular-season starts, plus two more in the postseason, because of a shoulder ailment and a mysterious latissimus dorsi injury. Still, the Yankees won 103 games without Severino, or Cole, thanks to their depth, which will again be tested.
Paxton is out until about May because of a lower back operation he had on Feb. 5. A typical recovery from Tommy John surgery is 12 to 15 months, so Severino might miss some of next season, too.
Severino, 26, is a two-time All-Star and finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting in 2017. Last February, the Yankees signed him to a four-year, $40-million extension.