Luis Severino spent the first 12 years of his professional career with the New York Yankees. The Yankees signed Severino out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. He debuted with the big league ball club in 2015 and made back-to-back All-Star teams in 2017 and ’18.
After enjoying much success for the first seven seasons of his MLB career, Severino struggled in 2023, and ultimately hit free agency ahead of the 2024 season.
The 2023 offseason brought an end to Severino’s Yankees tenure, as he signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the crosstown rival New York Mets.
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In his first year in Queens, Severino has found more success, going 6-3 with a 3.78 ERA across 18 starts. He was scheduled to face his former team in the Subway Series in late June, however, the Mets shuffled their rotation around due to matchups, and Severino didn’t get the opportunity to face the Yankees.
The Yankees and Mets are getting set for their second and final series of the season next week, this time at Yankee Stadium. However, yet again, Severino isn’t scheduled to pitch.
Severino, who is scheduled to pitch on Sunday against the Miami Marlins — two days before the series opener against the Yankees — spoke to reporters on Friday about the upcoming series against his former team. Severino said he’s in a group chat with former Yankees teammates who poked fun at him for not pitching against them saying he was avoiding them. Severino, however got the last laugh.
“They talked s*** about me when I (didn’t face) the Yankees (last month),” Severino said. “‘Oh, you’re afraid of us.’ I said, I’m not afraid. Right now you only have two good hitters.”
Severino decided to take a shot at the Yankees’ top-heavy lineup. Outside of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, there hasn’t been much success from Yankees hitters.
Severino and the rest of the league are taking notice. Outside of Judge and Soto, pitching around the Yankees’ lineup has been manageable.
The Yankees will hope for more success from their lineup as they come out of the All-Star break. Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo are nearing a return, and the Yankees will hope Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo can get their seasons back on track.
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As for the Mets, they’ll hope to keep the good vibes going in the second half as their midseason turnaround continues.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.