Luis Severino was knocked around again on Friday, and has now allowed nine runs on nine hits over 8.2 innings of work this spring.
Severino has been bit by the long ball in his three starts, having allowed five home runs, two of them coming on Friday, one of them on a slider to Eric Haase in the second inning.
The slider hung right over the middle of the plate, and Severino told reporters after his rough outing that he has been told by opponents that his slider just isn’t there.
“That my slider sucks, that’s what they’re telling me right now,” Severino said. “I need to work more on my slider. It’s not the movement, it’s just location actually.”
Location was certainly the issue on the home run pitch to Haase, and is typically his best secondary pitch to compliment his fastball. But Severino doesn’t seem too worried with less than three weeks to go before Opening Day.
“For me, that’s the pitch that takes longer to get ready,” Severino said. “I just need to work on location more. But everything else was really good.”
With Carlos Rodon starting the season on the IL, and Frankie Montas potentially missing the entire season, the Yankees’ rotation depth is already being tested, and Severino comes in with more injury concerns than any Yankees starter. So, while his slider isn’t working at the moment, he is more focused on the fact that health-wise, he feels strong.
“I feel happy where I am right now,” Severino said. “Even the next day, sometimes I pitch and it feels like I threw a bullpen, I’m not even sore. So that’s a great sign when I wake up the next day and I don’t feel horrible.”
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