Yankees look cheap as they fight Luis Severino over $850k in arbitration

The Yankees have avoided arbitration with most of their players, except for one. They are heading to arbitration with their staff ace, Luis Severino, over $850k.

Will this be Dellin Betances round two, where things became ugly between him and Yankees mostly due to Randy Levine? Team president Levine insulted Betances by openly criticizing his agent, Jim Murray because he wanted closer money for his client, a setup man.

It seems every time Levine opens his mouth, nothing but negativity spews out. And now we may be getting a second round of potentially a nasty fight since the Yanks and their 24-year-old ace, Luis Severino is heading to arbitration for less than $1 million.

To be exact, the two sides look set to fight over $850k. Is this how you value your ace?

Pre All-Star Game last season, Sevy posted a 2.31 ERA in 20 starts giving up 33 earned runs, striking out 144 batters and holding opponents to a fantastic .219 BAA.

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Post-Midsummer Classic, Severino posting a 5.57 ERA in 12 starts, giving up 39 earned runs and striking out just 76 batters while allowing opponents to hit a horrific .291 against him — highest BAA of his career.

However, Severino is still incredibly young, and could quickly bounce back during the 2019 season. He still has plenty of time to mature and develop.

But the wealthiest MLB franchise is making a big deal out of $850k because pinching pennies is the order of the day. How does haggling with your No. 1 starter make any sense when you just gave D.J. LeMahieu (a backup infielder) $12M per season for two years?

Sevy, the two-time All-Star, finished third in the AL Cy Young voting during the 2017 season. To show this kind of thank you to your ace is a slap in the face.

The only thing that I can see happening is the two sides arguing over how inconsistent Severino was last season. Hopefully, Levine keeps his mouth shut during arbitration, or it will put a bad taste in Sevy’s mouth, something his representatives will remember once he’s eligible to hit the open market.

Long before Levine vs. Betances, the Yanks even treated their captain like crap. Following the 2010 season, Yankees general manager, Brian Cashman and future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, had some tense negotiations.

At the time, Cashman told the media that Jeter should test the open market to understand his value as he wanted a four-year contract between $23 million and $25 million per season, which of course didn’t sit well with No. 2.

Let’s hope the arbitration doesn’t become that ugly, although it’s a shame that they’re even heading to it for this amount of money. It’s more of a joke because if you haven’t heard, Greg Bird received a raise — yes, you heard that right.

Bird played in only 82 games in ’18, slashing a horrific .199/.286/.386 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs. He also struck out 78 times, but who’s counting? Bird needs to improve in 2019 or prepare for more angry fans to want him shipped out.