Yankees: Please don’t bank on Luis Severino pitching in 2021 despite ‘good’ update

It’s been a gutting road for New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino, whose career has tumbled downhill ever since Game 3 of the 2018 ALDS when it was reported he warmed up late before starting the pivotal matchup against the Boston Red Sox because he didn’t know what time it was supposed to start.

Whether it’s true or not, the right-hander got rocked in that game, Boston took a 2-1 lead in the series they would eventually win, and he’s pitched a grand total of 20.1 innings since the beginning of 2019.

A shoulder injury kept him out of action for much of that campaign before Tommy John surgery ahead of the 2020 season really turned everything upside down. Then just last month, Severino suffered a groin injury during just his second rehab start — the severity of which he made appear he’d be lost for the rest of the year — that delayed him another month.

And now we have the latest. Two starts since his return from the groin issue, he’s now dealing with some sort of shoulder ailment. He didn’t make his last scheduled outing because of it and he’s going to miss more time.

According to manager Aaron Boone on THURSDAY, an MRI of Severino’s shoulder — one that took place on MONDAY after learning of the injury on FRIDAY — revealed no structural damage … but he won’t throw for the rest of this week.

There are 12 days left until September. The clock couldn’t be ticking louder on Sevy’s 2021 season. And for your mental health, you really should be banking on him returning to make an impact this year. At this juncture, to put it nicely, it’s wishful thinking.

Luis Severino’s injury troubles can’t have Yankees fans feeling optimistic.

In no way is there any ill will directed at Severino here. Sometimes topics such as these make it sound that way, but fans should be wishing him nothing but the best. No couch-potato/Twitter egg emoji will likely ever experience the physical and mental anguish the Yankees pitcher has over the last three or so years.

That being said, stop including Sevy in your projected rotation and/or bullpen for down the stretch and in the postseason. He’s so far away from being a contributor from even an endurance standpoint that we need to pump the brakes whenever we start feeling that optimism as he nears that long-awaited return.

If and when it happens? Celebrate! Give him a standing ovation in the Bronx. We truly cannot wait to see him on the mound again, whenever the time comes!

But he can no longer be viewed as a “late-season acquisition” or a “post-deadline addition” because he’s been so thrown off course that it feels like he’ll need a miracle to even toe the rubber at the MLB level … let alone make a lasting impact that will make a mark on a potential championship run in the next two months.

All we ask is that we temper expectations, because we’ve gotten “good” updates before … only to be let down not long after.

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