Tuesday afternoon the New York Yankees were dealt a blow when staff ace Luis Severino had to be shut down with what was later diagnosed as rotator cuff inflammation. He received a cortisone injection and anti-inflammatories, and will not pick up a baseball for at least two weeks. Severino will open the season on the injured list rather than make his second consecutive Opening Day start. Here's what manager Aaron Boone told reporters, including NJ.com's Brendan Kuty, following Severino's injury: "I feel like the MRI went well. Obviously any time a starting pitcher and a guy like Sevy walks off while he's warming up to start a game, you always get worried and concerned about that. But it sounds like the shoulder's pretty clean. It's just the inflammation issues. If that's the case, then hopefully two weeks is something that will do the trick and he can ramping back up with his throwing program. But we'll re-evaluate at the same time at that two-week point to see if all that inflammation is out of there." The Yankees were already slated to begin the regular season without fifth starter CC Sabathia, who is working his way back from offseason knee and heart surgery. Now they'll start the season without Severino as well. Opening Day is still three weeks away and already the Yankees are down two of their five projected starting pitchers. That's not good. I suppose the good news is Severino's injury is not something more serious, and Opening Day is still three weeks away. That gives the Yankees some time to find a solution and come up with a plan, and put that plan in place. A few years ago Chien-Ming Wang suffered a hamstring injury late in spring training and forced the Yankees to start Carl Pavano on Opening Day. For real. Thus far the Yankees have said they will look to replace Severino from within, which is what every team says in this situation. When an important player gets hurt, the last thing you want to do is publicly declare you're looking to make a trade or sign a free agent. That's a good way to reduce your leverage. The Yankees will go with internal options, wink wink, nudge nudge. There is no shortage of available options for the Yankees to fill out their rotation prior to Opening Day, though some solutions are more viable than others. Here are five ways the Yankees can address their suddenly Severino-less and Sabathia-less starting staff. Splurge for Keuchel Dallas Keuchel CHW • SP • 60 ERA 3.74 WHIP 1.31 IP 204.2 BB 58 K 153 View Profile The dots were connected immediately. Severino cut short his warm-ups Tuesday and headed for tests, and instantly there was speculation the Yankees would sign free agent Dallas Keuchel. The "an important player got hurt so go out and sign the best free agent to replace him" line of thinking has existed since the dawn of free agency, and Keuchel is quite clearly the best starting pitcher sitting in free agency. In a vacuum, yes, a contending team in the game's largest market should absolutely splurge for someone like Keuchel in the wake of Severino's injury. There is no such thing as too much pitching depth (what are the chances Severino is the Yankees' only rotation injury this year?) and Keuchel is, at worst, a quality workhorse starter who will chew up innings and keep the ball on the ground in homer-friendly Yankee Stadium. At best, he has Cy Young upside. The Yankees have operated on a generous yet fairly strict budget the last two years, so much so that they only halfheartedly pursued Manny Machado and did not pursue Bryce Harper at all. They showed zero interest in Keuchel over the winter. Not one single rumor. The Yankees traded for James Paxton and made a run at Patrick Corbin, and when that didn't work out, they pivoted to J.A. Happ on a short-term deal. Keuchel is a Scott Boras client and Boras is no idiot. He smells the blood in the water. He and Keuchel are not going to give the Yankees a break on a short-term deal after Severino's injury. They're going to squeeze as much out of them as possible over as many years as possible. The Yankees may not act or talk like it, but they're a bit desperate here. Losing Severino hurts. Simply put, signing Keuchel would require the Yankees to bust through the self-imposed payroll limit that stopped them from making serious runs at Corbin, Machado, and Harper. Is it possible? Yes. Unlikely? Also yes. Big money knee-jerk signings have not been this team's M.O. for a long time now. Be pragmatic with Gonzalez Gio Gonzalez MIA • SP • ERA 4.21 WHIP 1.44 IP 171.0 BB 80 K 148 View Profile Keuchel is far and away the best free-agent starter still on the market. The second best is veteran lefty Gio Gonzalez, someone the Yankees have tried to acquire in the past (unlike Keuchel) and someone they maintained interest in over the winter (also unlike Keuchel). Gonzalez is more likely to sign an affordable one-year contract than Keuchel and the general sense is he is better able to move into a swingman role once Severino and Sabathia return. That potential flexibility works well for the Yankees, as does the expected lower financial commitment. Keuchel figures to be more of a multi-year signing. Gonzalez could be a one-year stopgap who wouldn't require a dramatic shift in the team's payroll plan. Mine the scrap heap Edwin Jackson ARI • SP • 36 ERA 3.33 WHIP 1.22 IP 92.0 BB 37 K 68 View Profile Aside from Keuchel and Gonzalez, the free-agent market has very little to offer in terms of establish big-league starters at this point. Six current free agents other than Keuchel and Gonzalez made multiple big-league starts last season. The list: Jackson was easily the most effective of those six, pitching to a 3.33 ERA in 17 starts and 92 innings with the Athletics.<doc-sep>The easy answer would be to sign one of the starting pitchers still lingering on the free-agent market, with Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson representing the most logical candidates. While some fans may call for the club to sign Dallas Keuchel, the reality is that he will cost a lot more than Gonzalez or Jackson for 2019 and is still seeking a multiyear deal. Given that the club is already exceeding the Competitive Balance Threshold for 2019, another significant free-agent signing (like Keuchel) will only increase New York’s luxury tax bill, as well as putting the Yankees in jeopardy of exceeding the CBT again in 2020 if they sign another elite free agent. In other words, he’s an unlikely fit for the Yanks.<doc-sep>From there, it was off to the nearby hospital for an MRI, which revealed inflammation, and nothing more the Yankees are at least acknowledging, in the rotator cuff. Just the same, it’s the dreaded rotator cuff. But if the Yankees are expressing relief it’s just inflammation and not a tear, they are also shutting Severino down for two weeks, at which time he will presumably begin throwing again and hope there will be no recurrence of pain.<doc-sep>NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 3: Luis Severino #40 of the New York Yankees looks on during the American League Wild Card game against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, October 3, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images) Luis Severino’s shoulder injury has the Yankees brass scrambling. Brian Cashman might dip back into free agency to protect his starting rotation. One of the biggest determining factors for the Yankees’ ability to win their 28th World Series Championship is the performance of Luis Severino. Unfortunately, the team’s ace is now a major doubt to enter the 2019 season on the active roster. Manager Aaron Boone didn’t hide his concern about his pitcher after he was scratched from Tuesday’s Spring Training start due to shoulder discomfort. He told the media that it is “highly unlikely” that Severino will be ready for Opening Day. The question for GM Brian Cashman and company becomes what will the organization due to respond to the injury. If Severino’s final diagnosis indicates he’ll only miss a start or two then it’s very possible the Yankees will sit tight with their internal options. Boone specifically named Domingo German and Jonathan Loaisiga as guys who could move into the starting rotation for a short amount of time. Loaisiga showed flashes of brilliance last season but there are real questions over his ability to stay healthy for a full season. The team originally planned to leave him in AAA to start the season in an effort to build up his innings. The good news is that Loaisiga has looked excellent in Spring Training to date. Despite his inexperience, he’s the early favorite to fill in for Severino if it’s only for a short period of time. German isn’t out of the running though. There’s no question inside the organization that he has the stuff to get elite hitters out. For him it is all a question of command. His lack of ability to harness his stuff on a regular basis has led some to think he’s destined for a career in the bullpen. Like Loaisiga, the Yankees also would prefer to start him in AAA. He only has one minor league option left which would make starting him in the majors a real risk for the front office. If, on the other hand, Severino’s injury turns out to be more serious, expect Cashman to think long and hard about adding another starter. Fortunately for the Yankees, there are still quality options available on the free agency market. The top hurler still available is former Astros’ lefty Dallas Keuchel. It’s a big surprise to many people around MLB that he hasn’t found a home yet. He’s on the downside of his career, but he still should have several seasons of above average production ahead of him. If he’s willing to come off his desire for a long-term deal, Cashman could splurge and bring him to the Bronx. The more likely target for the Yankees is another southpaw. According to Jon Heyman, the front office discussed the idea of adding Gio Gonzalez to the roster even before Severino’s injury. Unlike Keuchel, he probably knows he won’t be able to secure a long-term deal. If the Yankees are willing to pay him a meaningful salary on a one-year deal he could give the team another quality veteran to deploy in the starting rotation. Ultimately, the Yankees’ future plans will depend greatly on Severino’s final diagnosis. No one should be surprised if Cashman makes one more move to strengthen his rotation before Opening Day.<doc-sep>
TAMPA, Fla. — The news was terrible and not the worst — at the same time. The Yankees will lose Luis Severino for the start of the season. The culprit: Right rotator cuff inflammation suffered as he warmed up to start Tuesday against the Braves at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Severino felt pain on the first slider he threw warming up, immediately stopped and told team trainers, who took him for an MRI which revealed no structural damage, according to manager Aaron Boone. Boone said Severino won’t throw for two weeks. Then he’ll receive a cortisone shot and start a rehabilitation program that will put him on the disabled list for the start of the season. Get tickets to see the 2019 Yankees: StubHub, Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, PrimeSport Here’s what the Yankees said about it: Boone On his level of concern for Severino I feel like the MRI went well. Obviously any time a starting pitcher and a guy like Sevy walks off while he’s warming up to start a game, you always get worried and concerned about that. But it sounds like the shoulder’s pretty clean. It’s just the inflammation issues. If that’s the case, then hopefully two weeks is something that will do the trick and he can ramping back up with his throwing program. But we’ll re-evaluate at the same time at that two-week point to see if all that inflammation is out of there. On if he was worried when he heard Severino was hurt Right before (Tuesday’s game), when it happened, obviously it’s 15 minutes before the game. So it’s a little chaotic. “Who do we want to send out there first?” And you can see everyone’s concern (for Severino). It’s no secret how important he is to our team.” Center fielder Aaron Hicks On Severino needing to start the season on the DL It’s a huge blow. He’s one of our better pitchers and we know we need him on the field. But we’d rather this happen early. Starting pitcher J.A. Happ On Severino’s injury Obviously a bummer. A guy you’re probably assuming was going to get the ball in Game 1 to start the season. If that’s in jeopardy, that’s a bummer. On Severino immediately telling trainers when he felt pain I think he did the right thing by not trying to push it right now. That would have made it worse and who knows. Depends where you’re at. I’m sure there are situations where, in the season later, it could be different. But I think he did the right thing right now. On if the Yankees’ rotation can recover You just kind of go next in line. That’s part of baseball. You just kind of try to pick up the slack and good teams are able to do that. That’s certainly a blow. That’s a guy you pencil in to really be effective for us. So hopefully it’s not serious and it’s just a matter of a couple weeks. That would be best-case (scenario), I think. But I’d be glad to hear the severity isn’t worse than that, really.