Is Yankees' latest roster move showing lack of trust in Luis Severino?

The New York Yankees are looking to take three out of four from the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night, which would help them gain major ground in the AL East shortly before the All-Star break. That said, can't say anybody's feeling confident with Luis Severino taking the mound for the finale.

Apparently, if we're to read in between the lines, the Yankees don't trust him, either! Took long enough! Were they fooled by his outing against the Texas Rangers on June 24?

Sevy followed that gem up by getting shelled in St. Louis. He allowed nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits and three walks in just four innings. He struck out only two. He surrendered multiple home runs in a start for the third time this season (he's only made eight starts!).

Though the Orioles have had trouble handling the Yankees' pitching over the last three games, they sport a talented offense that can explode at any time, and it would seem their tee-off session would be primed for Severino, who can't get his mechanics down.

So is that why the Yankees promoted Deivi Garcia hours before Thursday's game? Are they preparing for him to eat garbage innings in the likelihood Severino has to exit the game early? The Yankees have been working to preserve their bullpen all year, and they're perhaps prioritizing that with the All-Star break approaching.

Yankees promote Deivi Garcia: Does it show lack of trust in Luis Severino?

Because what's the other reason to promote Garcia? He has a 4.93 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in 21 games (34.2 innings) of relief with Triple-A Scranton. He's been just as bad as he was in 2021 and 2022. His lone success of 2023 was recording a three-inning save for the Yanks back in May.

As for Severino, he's failed to pitch beyond the fifth inning six out of eight times this year. He's allowed four earned runs or more in four of his eight starts. It's been genuinely unpleasant for fans to watch him ever since the beginning of June, and he's failed to improve or display a semblance of consistency.

If he's out of commission by the third or fourth on Thursday, Garcia coming in to eat another two or three frames before Aaron Boone needs to call on Albert Abreu would be an ideal worst-case scenario.

Throw in the fact Carlos Rodón will reportedly be making his season debut on Friday against the Chicago Cubs and will likely be on an innings/pitch limit because of his injury woes, and you can see why this might be the Yankees' way of thinking with just four games to go before a much-needed reprieve.

At the very least, it's nice to see the front office is being realistic (instead of delusional) about their personnel as we reach a crucial juncture of the season.

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