Predicting where each Yankees free agent will sign in 2024

Luis Severino: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Two Years, $24 Million)

Severino entered 2023 poised and determined to stay healthy, earning one last lengthy contract (four years?) after taking an early payday with the Yankees that didn't pay off (for the organization, that is).

He seemed fated to leave New York sometime during the summer of 2022. Perhaps it was when Brian Cashman showed him a calendar to indicate how many days "60" was. Maybe it was a bit later in the year, when he called out Aaron Boone for leaving Clay Holmes cold as Cleveland walked off Clarke Schmidt in the ALDS. Regardless, it seemed like his purpose in 2023 was to pitch well so he could find his ticket out, while the Yankees picked up his option in hopes that his fueled fire would help them one final time en route to the World Series.

Best-laid plans, though, right? Severino was injured in spring training and returned in the middle of May. He fired 100 MPH heaters immediately upon returning, then watched his stuff regress across the board, jumped on early by the Dodgers in a particularly harrowing narrative-twister. He became the "worst pitcher in the world" (his words) while subtracting 1.5 bWAR from the Yankees' totals. Sevy then fired off back-to-back excellent starts at the end of the summer, earning one last curtain call before a second excruciating injury prematurely ended his season (and robbed him off a fonder farewell).

The Angels are always looking for pitching and might be one of the few remaining teams willing to max out his payday on a multi-year pact. If they're not willing to go the extra mile, the Rays and Padres will almost certainly be lurking with one-year deals in the $12-13 million range. Yankee fans should certainly root for Sevy to find some security, and not just because Tampa Bay's pitching laboratory will absolutely maximize the righty's 16 starts next season.