Yankees weighing their options when it comes to what’s next for Luis Severino – The Denver Post

Somber, self-aware and searching for answers, Luis Severino criticized himself after yet another poor performance.

“Right now, I feel like I’m the worst pitcher in the game,” the righty said after allowing nine earned runs over 3.1 innings in the Yankees’ Sunday loss to the Orioles. “No doubt about it.”

An impending free agent, Severino is having a brutal season. He owns a 7.49 ERA over 12 starts.

The Yankees had hoped he was turning a corner after two solid starts against the Angels and Royals on July 17 and July 23, but Severino reverted against the O’s, who scored seven runs off him in the first inning.

On Monday, Aaron Boone was asked if the Yankees are committed to giving Severino his next start. The manager’s response didn’t offer any guarantees.

“Everything’s on the table,” Boone said. “We haven’t ruled in or out anything. That’s something that we’ll continue to work through here in these coming days.”

Matt Blake confirmed that there’s been no decision on skipping Severino’s next start, but the pitching coach did outline several possibilities for how the Yankees could handle Severino moving forward.

If Domingo Germán, who was scratched Monday with discomfort in his armpit area, feels better in the coming days, that could push Severino’s next start back. Nestor Cortes, meanwhile, is scheduled to return during the Yankees’ upcoming trip to Chicago. If Germán avoids the injured list, Cortes could bump Severino from the rotation.

“Obviously, we think he’s a high-level starting pitcher,” Blake told the Daily News of Severino. “In the meantime, how do we optimize his performance? So trying to balance all of the pieces that we have here with all the pitchers. Like is there an option to be in the bullpen? Sure. Does that make sense the next turn? I don’t know. So we got to have a probably fuller conversation with the guys about that, but all those things are in the conversation.”

Blake added that Severino will pitch in the next five days. “It’s just a matter of what role and making sure everybody’s on the same page about what’s best for Sevy and what’s best for the team,” Blake said.

On Sunday, Severino addressed the possibility of being removed from the rotation while adding that he’s 100% healthy.

“I mean, right now, I don’t know what could happen or what’s gonna happen,” Severino said, adding that he’s just worried about getting better. “If they decide to do that, that’s their decision.”

One scenario the Yankees have yet to discuss, according to Blake, is sending Severino on a minor league assignment for the purpose of tinkering. The Blue Jays recently did that with Alek Manoah, but Severino is out of minor league options and would have to approve such a move.

At what point would the Yankees have to consider having that conversation?

“It’s good question,” Blake said. “It’s one that we’d have to consider in the probably near-term if [Severino’s struggles] continued. I felt like we were making some positive steps over the last couple outings vs. Anaheim and Kansas City, and he obviously took a step back vs. Baltimore in that first inning [Sunday], so that maybe puts the conversation back on the table. But at the same time, it’s probably a little bit premature to go that far with him.”

The Yankees have offered long lists when discussing what’s plagued Severino. On Monday, Blake mentioned his delivery, grips, fastball command and breaking ball shape.

He also noted that there have been talks about tipping, which the Yankees monitor all of their pitchers for.

“So it’s just trying to find which is the lowest hanging fruit,” Blake said. “What’s the biggest return on the investment with the smallest amount of time away from the high-level version of Sevy? And those are the hard conversations we’ve got to have as a group.”

Blake went on to say that, as a coach, failing to unlock Severino has been “very frustrating.” Blake knows he’s not the only person with solutions — the Yankees have consulted other voices in their quest to fix Severino — but Blake still feels responsible.

“You feel terrible for Sevy,” he said. “You feel terrible for the group. This is a guy that we have high expectations for. Personally, you feel like you’re letting him down when you can’t get him right.”

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