Predicting the New York Yankees’ Next “Core Four”

Luis Severino

Dellin Betances seems like the easy answer as to which Yankees reliever will inherit the mantle of “next Mariano Rivera” after being one of the best relievers on the planet over the last three years, but I’m going to think outside the box here and suggest that Severino, not Betances could be the reliever in New York’s next “Core Four.”

Betances has always had control issues, and they seem to be flaring up more frequently after shouldering the heaviest workload of any reliever in baseball over the last three seasons. He’ll be turning 29 before next Opening Day, and I’m just not all that confident about what he’ll be by the time the Yankees are a legitimate contender again.

Sevvy, on the other hand, is still just 22 years old, and even though the team insists he will be a full-time starter in 2017, the odds seem pretty good that he eventually ends up in the bullpen from what we saw last year.

The young righty looked phenomenal out of the pen in 2016, putting up a 0.39 ERA in 23.1 IP and holding opposing batters to a .105/.209/.158 slash line as a reliever. His upper-90’s heater and wipeout slider can be fully unleashed in short stints, making his lack of a quality third pitch a non-issue.

If and when the team does decide to move Severino to the pen, he would immediately become one of the game’s best late inning weapons.