Yankees Need to Look Beyond Luis Severino for September Rotation

The New York Yankees should think twice before handing Luis Severino injured pitcher Chad Green‘s place in the starting rotation.

Even before starting pitcher Chad Green left Friday’s blowout loss to Baltimore with a sore right elbow, the New York Yankees rotation depth was razor thin.

Nathan Eovaldi was diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon and a partially torn UCL in August, which will cause him to miss not only this year, but 2017 as well. Bryan Mitchell was expected to be the team’s sixth starter coming out of spring training, but he has yet to pitch an inning in the Bronx after fracturing his toe in March.

Even those who have stayed healthy haven’t been especially reliable. CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda have played Jekyll and Hyde all year. Luis Severino was thought by many to be a potential front of the rotation starter for the Yankees this year, but instead he has been demoted to the minors three times and owns a 7.05 ERA in 52.1 big league innings. 

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While the Yankees odds of making the playoffs are slim at this point, they certainly shouldn’t wave the white flag. Many of their remaining games come against the team’s they are battling for the AL Wild Card, so if they can put together a winning streak this month, they have a good chance to get in.

At this point, every single game is close to a must-win. Because of that, under no circumstances should Luis Severino be starting games for the Yankees in September. His future may be bright, but he has shown time and time again that he is not able to turn over a big league lineup more than once this year.

In his last three big league starts, Severino has been unable to make it out of the fifth inning, allowing 19 earned runs and 22 hits in 10.2 IP. He’s completely lost confidence in his changeup, which is what he was working on in his most recent stint in Triple-A.

For the moment, he’s best suited to help the team as a reliever because of his two quality pitches. If the team wants him to focus on his change and his long-term development (which is a completely valid position to take), then he shouldn’t be with the big league club.

So who should be taking Green’s turns in the rotation this month? The Yankees have a number of options. Bryan Mitchell made a strong start for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre Friday night, striking out six, walking none, and giving up just one earned run in five innings of work.

Dietrich Enns has a 1.75 ERA through 134 IP split between Double-A and Triple-A this year. He was recently converted to the bullpen to limit his innings, but could have a few spot starts left in him down the stretch.

The Yankees fourth rounder in 2014, Jordan Montgomery has a 0.97 ERA in six starts for the Railriders since being promoted to the International League. He has a 2.13 ERA in 139.1 IP on the year, and unlike Enns, could probably throw another 50 innings or so without taxing his arm as he pitched 134.1 innings last season.

Adam Warren is another option, although it  would take some time to get him stretched out after spending the year as a reliever. In 2015 Warren had a 3.66 ERA in 17 starts for the Yankees.

Next: Which Yankees are Next for September Call Ups?

For what it’s worth, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was unwilling to commit to using Severino in the rotation going forward, telling reporters before Saturday’s game, “You may get to a situation where you decide to start Sevy, but I do want to have Sevy available [out of the bullpen] for these games, because I think they’re important games.”