New York Yankees Editorial: Is It Time to Call up Luis Severino?

With the Nathan Eovaldi project failing to live up to it’s expectations and the inconsistency so far from C.C. Sabathia, the Yankees starting rotation is in shambles. Ivan Nova is set to return soon, but coming off tommy john surgery, it’s unlikely that Nova can turn the Yankees starting pitching around all by himself. Adam Warren has pitched well enough to stay in the starting rotation, but given the state of the Yankees bullpen, Girardi might elect to push him back as a seventh inning swing-man.

If the Yankees want to avoid missing baseball in October for a third straight year, Brian Cashman needs to fix the starting pitching department sooner rather than later.

The Yankees have reportedly been scouting Johnny Cueto in Cincinnati as a possible pitching upgrade, but it’ll likely cost them a ton of prospects and a hefty financial commitment for just half a season out of the 28-year old ace. There are low end pitchers on the trading block as well, including Scott Kazmir and Mike Leake, but they might not be a great fit in New York.

One solution that hasn’t been talked about at all is promoting top prospect Luis Severino. Call me crazy, but I think the kid might finally be ready, at least for his first cup of coffee in the Bronx.

Severino improved his AAA record to 2-0 on Tuesday after fanning three batters in five innings. He scattered two runs on four hits and three walks in route to a 6-4 win over the Rochester Red Wings.

The 21-year old held the Red Wings scoreless through five innings, allowing just three singles and two bases on balls. He was removed from the ballgame after giving up a hard-hit single to James Beresford and a walk to Eric Fryer in the bottom of the sixth.

Jaron Long came on in relief for Severino and managed to get two outs before giving up a two run single off the bat of Reynaldo Rodriguez.

Both runs were charged to Severino, but through his first four Triple-A starts with Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre, Severino has 11 strikeouts and eight walks in 21.2 innings pitched. He also has an impressive 2.91 ERA.

Obviously Severino still has some things he needs to work on, but getting some major league experience under his belt is certainly not a bad thing. He’s only pitched a total of 59.2 innings so far this year between Trenton and Scranton, and has an astonishing 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings ratio across both minor league levels.

Both the Red Sox and Texas Rangers have had some success with recent call ups Eduardo Rodriguez and Chi Chi Gonzalez. So maybe it’s time the Yankees unleash their weapon.

What do you think Yankee fans? Let us know in the comments below.

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