The return of Luis Severino and Carlos Rodon will increase the rotation of the Yankees

Luis Severino was in a playful mood late Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. The day went so well that he only thought about rolling in the sun. He felt so strong that he realized he could throw his fastball at 103 miles per hour. He was dressed for success and he knew it.

“Today, when I walked there, I saw that I looked really good in pinstripe,” said Severino, smiling. “So hopefully I can keep doing this for a long time.”

Severino had reason to be optimistic. The Yankees just beat the San Diego Padres, a team struggling to find material to match their style, in 10 rushing innings in the Bronx. After another 10-7 win on Sunday, they were 32-23, solid again after a sluggish start.

In any case, relatively strong. Until Sunday, the Yankees were hitting just .234 as a team, which would have been their worst average all season since their farewell to Mickey Mantle in 1968. the harsh American League East, with no teams with a losing record.

And yet, when Severino pitches as he did on Saturday — when only a two-out error in the seventh kept him from playing seven innings and one run — the outlook seems much brighter.

Of course, there is a long way to go with many injuries and trades in the league. But no squad will enjoy facing Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, the strong Carlos Rodon and Severino in a short series, especially when Severino hits 97 mph again. Domingo Germán should return on Monday from sticky substance the suspension is also solid.

“You can see a place where we have a chance to have a really complete and talented group that’s hard to score against,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Sevvy is a frontline guy. When he’s on the hill, if he’s at his best, he can match anyone and any offense.”

The Padres are missing star infielder Manny Machado, who suffered a hairline fracture in his left hand, and have left Xander Bogarts, their top free agent, out of Saturday’s roster to rest his sore wrist. Severino mastered their impromptu order, allowing just one hit – homer on Fernando Tatis Jr. — and three walks over six and two-thirds of the innings.

It was the second strong start for Severino, who missed the first 48 games of the season with a right lat strain. A similar injury cost him two months last summer, and he missed most of the previous three years, from 2019 to 2021, due to shoulder and elbow problems.

Severino exemplifies the fragility of power pitchers. In both of his All-Star seasons, 2017 and 2018, he threw the hardest fastball among qualified starting pitchers, with an average speed of 97.6 mph over both seasons, according to Fangraphs.

Cole was the second fastest fastballer during the same seasons with Pittsburgh and Houston and has remained healthy ever since; Severino admiringly called him a “monster”. Perhaps more common is the case of Rodon, a left-hander who underwent shoulder and elbow surgery with the Chicago White Sox ahead of the 2021 All-Star season.

He followed that up last year with the San Francisco Giants and then signed with the Yankees. six years and $162 million. A sprained forearm and back problems have left Rodon on the injured list all season, and although he remains inactive, he is now back at the clubhouse and will travel with the Yankees this week for games against the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles. Angeles Dodgers.

“It’s nice to be able to be part of the team and be here, but when I was in rehab in Tampa, it was hard to watch from the sidelines,” Rodon said. “I wanted to be a part of it. Obviously you have to try to be a good teammate every day, but it makes it a lot easier when you’re pitching on the mound.”

Rawdon did it — at least in the bullpen — and said he no longer feels discomfort in his back after a cortisone injection in early May. The inaction has changed his calendar – “I’m back to fucking February 15,” he said – but he’s finally started the usual six-week prep that a pitcher gets in spring training.

“The uniforms in yesterday’s bullpen were there,” Rawdon said Saturday. “Obviously it’s not about 98 mph, it’s about the performance in the fields – everything is in order, the forms were the same as always in the last two years. I feel like I’m moving down the hill the same way. Now it’s just part of the build-up process, building up shots for hitters and improving shot stamina in games. Here are the steps I need to take.”

Given the injury histories of Severino and Rodon, lighter workload in the regular season could help in the postseason. It may be a condescending look at the situation, but every team must solve the riddle of keeping their best pitchers fresh when it matters most.

The Flight and Orioles have been better than the Yankees so far. But there aren’t any pitchers in Tampa Bay who have ever thrown 170 pitches in a season, and there are two in Baltimore – Cole Irvin, who plays in the minors, and Kyle Gibson.

The Toronto Blue Jays are the only team in the Majors to have used just five starting players this season, but stability hasn’t led to success; the team has been in a tailspin since the Yankees won three of four at Rogers Center in mid-May. And while Chris Sale is finally thriving again for the Red Sox, the rest of Boston’s patchwork rotation has a lot to prove.

In this context, third place in the AL East doesn’t seem so bad. The Yankees aren’t perfect, but if spin power matters the most in the long run, they should be fine.