Luis Severino's time frame for return to rotation is not clear
Luis Severino of the Yankees walks on the field at Yankee Stadium on July 1. Credit: Jim McIsaac
So here’s where the Yankees are when it comes to Luis Severino:
The righthander could begin throwing again in a few days or not at all. He could make it back to the rotation at some point in September, or not at all.
An MRI taken of Severino’s right shoulder Monday showed no structural damage, but in discussing that before Thursday night’s game against the Twins, manager Aaron Boone didn’t offer much more beyond saying the club saw the results as "relatively good news."
What that means in terms of a return is not yet clear.
Boone said Severino, who scratched himself from his scheduled rehab start last Friday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after feeling "tightness" in his right shoulder, "probably won't throw through this week, but that's something that we're kind of monitoring day by day."
Boone said it’s possible that Severino will accompany the Yankees on their trip west next week — which includes games in Oakland and Anaheim — to be seen by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the California-based specialist.
"Let's get through this week and see when he's able to start throwing again and see where we're at at that point," Boone said.
Boone did indicate that Severino, who underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2020, has not experienced a recurrence of the tightness that caused him to take himself out of Friday’s start.
"He's feeling pretty good," Boone said. "I know his last couple days, range of motion and things like that, have all been good . . . I know he’s shut down from throwing at least for a couple of more days."
Is Boone convinced that there’s enough time left on the calendar to get Severino — who initially was expected back by mid-July but has suffered two separate setbacks in his rehab — properly built back up to be a legitimate rotation option?
"We'll see," Boone said. "I don't want to speculate because I don't know when he's throwing the ball [again], and I don't know when he's back on the mound and things like that and where we're starting from. It would probably be silly for me to speculate on that. I mean, if he's throwing the ball by Monday and ramping up by then, we'll just see."
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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