4 offseason decisions the Yankees are paying for right now

Not Trading Luis Severino (or Declining His Option)

Luis Severino will never become the 2017-2018 version of himself, at least not in New York. Only the front office and a few delusional fans don't believe that to be the case, as everybody was fooled by his 19-start 2022 showing where he was totally solid.

It was the first time since 2018 that the right-hander possessed any sort of trade value, and the Yankees had a premier opportunity to pick up his $15 million team option and trade him to upgrade their roster elsewhere, especially since they were signing Carlos Rodón and investing more money in the rotation. In theory, they didn't need a rotation of Gerrit Cole, Rodón, Nestor Cortes, Severino and Frankie Montas. It was nice to see on paper, but they could've taken a little from there to address a little of something over here. Though declining his option would've seemed a bit crazy, there was no evidence it would've been $15 million well spent. Sevy had pitched in 26 games since the start of the 2019 season. Was anybody seriously expecting 32 starts and ~180 innings after all that?

Plus, anybody thinking Severino wouldn't deal with injury issues in 2023 after dealing with them nonstop since 2019 was simply trying to fool themselves into envisioning a much more pleasant reality. And when Sevy went down in spring training and was out until May 21, everyone knew nothing good was going to come out of it.

After one solid and one promising start, Severino flew off the rails over his next four, rebounded two outings ago (though it wasn't exactly "impressive"), then arrived back at square one after getting rocked by the Cardinals in a game where he didn't even give the Yankees a chance. He's potentially dealing with mechanical issues and mental obstacles. Not something this team can afford from a supposed "key" player.

This will be a very regrettable move unless Sevy turns back to the clock and helps the Bombers on a deep playoff run, because he's as good as gone after 2023 -- something everybody knew once 2022 concluded.