ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Luis Severino is able to lastly begin his rehab project this week.
Then once more, he felt prepared final week, too, earlier than the Yankees modified their thoughts on beginning his rehab clock and had him throw one other simulated sport on Friday in Tampa as an alternative.
“I feel it was pointless to not throw in Low-A, however I do no matter they inform me to do,” Severino stated Sunday morning at Tropicana Subject. “However I really feel good.”
Severino was in temper, smiling with some jokes on the prepared whereas talking with reporters about his restoration from the strained lat he sustained within the ultimate week of spring coaching.
But it surely was clear he was annoyed with how the Yankees have slow-played his return.
A couple of days after the harm occurred in late March, Severino stated he hoped to solely miss three or 4 begins, a timeline that the Yankees initially appeared to be according to.
As an alternative, Severino may have missed at the least 9 or 10 begins by the point he returns in late Might, if every little thing continues to go as deliberate.
Supervisor Aaron Boone had stated the Yankees opted to have Severino throw one other simulated sport on Friday so as to have a extra controllable surroundings.
Requested in the event that they defined to him why that wasn’t a rehab begin as an alternative, Severino stated with a smile, “They tried to, however no matter.”
“On the finish, if I’m the one one who needs one thing they usually don’t agree with that, they’re not going to let me do one thing,” Severino stated. “However hopefully, for now on, they belief me extra and attempt to let me compete extra.”
The plan now could be for Severino to start his rehab project on Wednesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — although the right-hander stated he would favor Thursday as a result of the Wednesday sport is an 11:05 a.m. begin and he doesn’t wish to spend the night time earlier than in Scranton or drive in early that morning.
Severino hopes to solely want two rehab begins, which Boone stated could be the minimal, earlier than rejoining the Yankees rotation.
He threw 40 pitches in Friday’s sim sport and is in line to throw round 50 in his first rehab begin — “or 41,” Severino cracked.
On a extra critical notice, the right-hander stated he would get extra out of a rehab begin than a sim sport as a result of he must get used to the pitch timer once more and face hitters who’re nearer to the foremost leagues.
Boone stated that Severino’s in depth harm historical past — together with a lat pressure final season that in the end landed him on the 60-day IL, a transfer with which Severino was overtly sad — performs “slightly little bit of a job” within the Yankees dealing with his rehab cautiously.
“But it surely’s additionally an strategy of constructing beginning pitchers up conservatively and understanding that these pitches, whether or not it’s between 40 and 60 and 70, are the instances you gotta be conscious,” Boone stated. “Whenever you make huge jumps, historical past will inform you these are the instances that pitchers generally is a little extra susceptible to accidents.
“The underside line is we wish a wholesome Luis Severino again in our rotation impacting us. We’re all trying ahead to that.”