New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino is inching ever-so-closer to his return to the majors 15 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
On Monday, manager Aaron Boone revealed that the 27-year-old right-hander was scheduled to throw a simulated game and if all went well, he could begin a rehab assignment on Sunday with the team’s Low-A affiliate in Tampa.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. I want today to go well,” Boone said. “Obviously, that next step is another big one, into a game and with the team. So let’s get past today and hope everything goes well. It’s been a really good few weeks for Sevy. I know he’s throwing the ball well and feels really good. I think you can kind of imagine the timeline a little bit if things continue to progress.”
Should the subsequent rehab starts go well, Severino could be back on the bump for the Yankees by early July.
Under Boone and the Yankees’ current plan, Severino has been pitching every sixth day with the goal of the rehab assignment to build up his pinch count to ensure a proper ramp-up to life back in the majors. Boone was unsure of the starting count upon Severino’s start of the assignment.
“We’ve taken a pretty conservative approach with Sevy, so there’s going to be a lot of time that’s gone off the clock since he had the surgery,” Boone said. “We feel like he’s in a really good spot right now. The stuff has been very good in his last couple of outings and we’re very encouraged by what we’re seeing.
“So I don’t want to put a ceiling on what Luis Severino can do for us. We’ll just have to see as he comes back and then make our evaluations and everyone will make their evaluations as he starts to accrue some outings once he gets back to the big leagues.”
