New York Yankees Editorial: Luis Severino Won’t Be Starting Tuesday, Should He Be?

By Caleb Gebrewold | Jul 27, 2015

The New York Yankees have made the decision to push Masahiro Tanaka‘s next start back from Tuesday to Wednesday in an attempt to protect his arm, as well as the health of the rest of the staff. While Tuesday would seemingly be the perfect time to see what they have in Luis Severino, either in terms of his ability to pitch in the Major Leagues in 2015 or if they should include him in trade talks, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPN, due to Severino starting Friday, this will not be the case:

"As for Tuesday, the Yankees don’t know who will start. It won’t be Luis Severino or Bryan Mitchell, as they pitched the last two nights for Triple-A Scranton, making them unavailable Tuesday. [Joe] Girardi said he could possibly have pitchers throw three innings each, with Adam Warren and Chris Capuano in the mix."

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Is this the right move or should the team give Severino the nod Tuesday? While it would be great to see Severino debut sooner than later, the team is making the right move. It would be great to figure out if his arm is big league ready, or if the team needs to add an additional starter, but calling him up to make his major league debut, on three days rest, would make the start much more pressure filled than a normal debut.

As great as Severino has been in the minor leagues, he is only 21 years old. The team should not jeopardize his health to evaluate him for one start. Severino is already having his innings managed, an indication that the team will not risk his future for 2015.

While we would all love to see Severino debut this week, is it worth damaging his arm? No, it is not, especially when considering that he is so young he could be a key contributor for the next 10-15 years. The team has shown no desire in trading either Severino or Aaron Judge, and for good reason, making it far more unlikely they should feel the need to show him off to potential trade partners.

Also, if Brian Cashman is bluffing, and is willing to dangle Severino in trade talks, the team has nothing to gain by tossing him into the fire Tuesday. If he has a bad start, would that damage how teams view his potential? Unlikely, but would a good start increase his stock? Definitely not. His stock will likely remain the same until the end of the 2015 season. One start will not affect much.

There is also plenty of time to assess his ability to handle pitching in the big leagues before the season’s conclusion. Unless they are planning to trade Severino, ultimately, it makes far more sense to preserve his arm, the same strategy that they have used for the majority of their big league rotation.

Severino could very well debut before the end of the 2015 season, and become a fixture in the rotation by 2016. With such a long future ahead of him, it doesn’t make sense for the organization to rush things. Warren is a more than capable starter, and after an eight inning outing by Nathan Eovaldi Sunday, barring a short start from Ivan Nova on Monday, the bullpen should be well rested come Tuesday if Warren struggles or reaches his pitch count limit.

What do you think Yankees fans? Should Severino be thrown into the action on three days rest Tuesday, or do you agree with the team’s strategy of keeping him in AAA for the time being? Let us know below.

Next: New York Yankees Editorial: What If The Trade Deadline Shapes Up This Way?

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