Yankees: Luis Severino’s absence has been felt hard behind Gerrit Cole

The loss Luis Severino has really set the Yankees back.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before in the last couple of weeks, but the New York Yankees have once again found it impossible to topple the Tampa Bay Rays, who extended their cushion in the AL East to 4.5 games after their series-opening victory over the Bombers on Monday night.

Coming off a doubleheader sweep of the Mets, we wouldn’t say that Game 1 against Tampa was a must-win contest as the club currently has a 98.6% chance to make the playoffs, according to ESPN. However, with ace Gerrit Cole on the mound, a victory over the resilient Rays to kick off the series really would have done wonders for the Yankees’ confidence, which is floundering as of late.

Though the superstar hurler had another off night on the bump, he’s still been a serviceable starter and we fully believe that he will turn the ship around. The point here is that the sheer urgency to win with Cole taking the ball only amplified how weak the rest of New York’s rotation is.

In other words, the club is being hit hard by Luis Severino’s absence a lot more than originally anticipated.

Let’s take a look at how the rest of the Yankees staff has fared through the first half of 2020:

• James Paxton: 1-1 (five starts) with a 6.64 ERA and 1.475 WHIP
• Masahiro Tanaka: 0-1 (five starts) with a 3.48 ERA 1.161 WHIP
• JA Happ: 1-1 (four starts) with a 4.04 ERA and 1.150 WHIP
• Jordan Montgomery: 2-1 (five starts) with a 4.44 ERA and 1.068 WHIP

Outside of Tanaka, those are pretty bad numbers, and it doesn’t really come as a surprise that the team ranks 16th in MLB with a 4.51 ERA from its starters. What makes the rotation’s struggles all the more worrisome is that New York didn’t even strike a trade ahead of the 4 p.m. ET deadline on Monday.

Potential partners were reportedly making absurd demands, but it’s definitely a little head-scratching that the Yankees didn’t pull the trigger in light of their recent pitching struggles.

Nobody could have predicted Severino missing the entire season, but the acquisition of Cole was supposed to be enough to help New York get by in 2020 as he works his way back to the diamond. The Yankees were an ace away from becoming a prohibitive World Series favorite, and that still might’ve been the case if the team were fully healthy.

Bottom line, the club could use Severino of 2018 — when he finished 18-6 with a 3.39 ERA and 220 strikeouts — in the worst way right now. Cole’s miraculous winning streak was bound to end at some point, and the Yankees are feeling the effects. Let’s just hope it doesn’t cost them a chance at making a title run.