Luis Severino of the New York Mets pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, August 22, 2024 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
New York baseball fans have waited a long time for Luis Severino to pitch as well as he did in 2018.
First, New York Yankees fans hoped that Severino would again be capable of making 30 starts in a season, as he did in 2017 and 2018, years in which he was an All-Star and received votes in the Cy Young Award balloting.
They waited the better part of five years, but Severino, whose tenure in the Bronx was marred by repeated trips to the Injured List and a missed 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery, never quite returned to form.
But this season, the native of Sabana de la Mar, Dominican Republic, is back, an effective starter once again, pitching one borough away for the Mets, where he’s posted a 3.84 ERA, made 25 starts, his most since 2018, and has been solid in the starting rotation for Carlos Mendoza’s up-and-down club, which may yet ride the late-season roller coaster into a wild card spot.
This week, Severino put up two of his best starts in years, throwing a four-hit complete game shutout against the Miami Marlins on August 17, striking out eight and allowing one walk, and following that up with a five-inning outing at San Diego, where he allowed five hits and one run. The Mets won both games, and Severino’s performance won him World Baseball Network’s International MLB Player of the Week honors.
When Severino returned to the Yankees rotation in September 2019 after missing all of the regular season to that point, he still looked dominant, throwing 12 innings in three starts with a 1.50 ERA. The Tommy John surgery followed the next spring, and then the missed season followed by two seasons of intermittent effectiveness.
Over the offseason, the Mets needed another starting pitcher, and Severino needed a contract. The Mets got him for $13 million for one year and are getting their money’s worth.
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