Luis Severino thinks he can return to his old form this season, or at least improve on what has plagued him at times with the Yankees.
The Mets’ new pitcher told reporters in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Wednesday that he studied a lot this offseason in hopes of reducing the pitch swings that he said gave him problems during the recent seasons.
Severino said he believed the main problem occurred when he threw a breaking ball with runners on base.
Mets starting pitcher Luis Severino throws during spring training. Corey Sipkin for NY POST
“It’s the big leagues. I have to clean it up,” Severino said, according to the Post’s Jon Heyman.
Severino, a two-time All-Star who finished third in American League Cy Young Award voting in 2017, struggled in 2023 with a 6.65 ERA in 89 1/3 innings.
He was particularly vulnerable with runners in scoring position, as hitters had a .330/.404/.637 slash line with seven home runs in just 105 plate appearances.
Severino has previously said that pitchers’ tipping issues have bothered him from time to time during his career.
In 2018, it was suspected that Severinon was tipping the scales during a particularly poor start in Game 3 of the ALDS against the Red Sox in which he was tagged for six runs in three innings.
Luis Severino said he studied his throwing this offseason in hopes of reducing his tipping issues. Corey Sipkin for NY POST
A year later, former Yankee Alex Rodriguez suspected Severino was doing the same in the ALCS against the Astros.
“There are a lot of things I think I did wrong. I still have problems with tipping and that kind of thing,” Severino said at a press conference in January when he was introduced as a Met. “I think I need to fix that now, so when I go on the mound at the start of the season, I just need to focus on throwing and forget [whether] my glove is too high or too low.
Severino’s peripherals took a nosedive last year due to injuries, but his fastball velocity still remained in the 88th percentile in all of baseball, according to Baseball Savant, so there’s hope he can turn things around during his one-year prove-it deal with the Mets in 2024.
2024-02-15 05:55:47
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