Aaron Boone voiced his encouragements when it came to Luis Severino’s first bullpen session since Tommy John surgery earlier this week, and bullpen coach Mike Harkey added to that on Saturday.
Speaking with reporters on a Zoom call, Harkey, who has been in baseball as a pitching or bullpen coach since the start of the new millennium, described Severino’s first bullpen as the best he’s ever seen given the situation.
“I’ve seen a lot of first-time bullpens after Tommy John, and watching Sevy is probably the most comfortable I’ve ever seen a player throwing his bullpen, and probably the most aggressive I’ve ever seen a player,” Harkey said.
Boone shared a similar sentiment earlier this week, saying the team almost told Severino to ease up in his first session, where he threw 20 fastballs and played catch on flat ground two days later. Severino has battled injuries for the past two seasons, with a lat strain a forearm soreness plaguing his 2019 season before having Tommy John last February. It’s been a long road back for Severino, who is trying to recapture his ace-like production from 2017 and 2018, but he doesn’t appear to be showing any hesitation in his quest to return to the Yankees rotation.
“He’s worked his tail off to get to this point,” Harkey said. “Having been through serious injuries and rehabbing for months and a year, it takes a toll on your mind. It definitely takes a toll on your body…but if you dig into it and do things now to your body that you weren’t able to do when you were healthy, I think when he does come back he’s going to be much stronger.”
A stronger version of a healthy Severino would be a massive boost for the Yankees, who have been looking for stability in the rotation for years, particularly in October. If Severino can return to form by the stretch run and make an impact in the playoffs, the Yankees could be in good shape.
The way Severino was throwing in his first bullpen, that appears to be his goal.
“It looked like he had zero apprehension, or zero worry about whether his surgically repaired elbow was sound,” Harkey said. “We’re still looking at probably 20 or 30 more bullpens and a couple of live batting practices and some games, so he’s still a long way away, but very encouraged the first time out.”
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