What Yankees make of Luis Severino’s sky-high spring ERA

LAKELAND, Fla. —Yankees starter Luis Severino gave up two more home runs over four innings pitched in his third spring training start on Friday. His ERA in Grapefruit League play now sits at 9.35.

And yet, as the Yankees wrapped up their 4-3 win over the Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, Severino was relaxed, chatting with reporters about the rush hour traffic that awaits on the I-4 heading back to Tampa.

It’s not like Severino doesn’t care about the results. He was blunt in the assessment of his slider on Friday, saying the pitch “sucks” right now. Tigers catcher Eric Haase deposited a hanging slider over the left-field wall in the second inning, a pitch that Severino knows he needs to work on more.

Severino’s tranquility stems from the fact that he’s healthy. For the first time in four springs, the right-hander doesn’t need to answer questions about his elbow or his shoulder. He doesn’t need to plan for surgery or soldier through another long rehab journey.

That clean bill of health outweighs the lack of results in his first three spring starts by a mile.

“These guys know that I’m good right now,” Severino said. “I feel better than ever. My energy every time feels good, even the next day. Sometimes I pitch and it feels like a bullpen, I’m not even sore. That’s a great sign.”

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn’t just pleased that Severino is healthy, he’s confident that Severino has pitched better than his numbers would indicate. Nine earned runs, nine hits, five home runs and two walks in 8 2/3 innings is an eyesore, but Boone is overtly encouraged by the way Severino has been throwing the ball, quickly building in volume and velocity.

“The stuff is there,” Boone said. “I thought today was another good outing, a good step for him. It’s coming out real easy, he’s staying in his delivery, he’s got a really good feel for his changeup already. … I’m excited with where he’s at.”

Severino threw 54 pitches on Friday, touching 97.7 mph with his four-seam fastball. Again, the slider needs work, but that vintage electricity on his heater is starting to peek through. Take the 97.1-mph fastball that Severino blew by second baseman Zack Short in the third inning for a swinging strikeout or the 96-mph fastball that made designated hitter Akil Baddoo stop and stare in the fourth, Severino’s final pitch and his third strikeout of the day. Left fielder Kerry Carpenter crushed a solo shot on a fastball in the third, but Severino and Boone agreed that it was a good piece of hitting on a great pitch.

“Of course I want to go out there and throw shutout innings, but the results right now for me are not the main thing,” Severino reiterated. “It’s being healthy.”

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Considering the Yankees’ starting rotation has been hit hard with injuries so far this spring — Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) and Carlos Rodón (forearm strain) are out to begin the year — this team needs Severino to turn back the clock. If he’s healthy and can stay healthy, the results will follow.

“I don’t care where they put me,” Severino said, asked about Rodón’s injury. “I’m gonna do my job. I can be the last, I don’t care. Every time they give me the ball, I’m going to give my 100 percent.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Saturday: Phillies at Yankees (SS) in Tampa, 1:05 p.m., YES. TBA vs. RHP Domingo Germán (1-0, 1.69)

Yankees (SS) at Pirates in Bradenton, 1:05 p.m., ATT SportsNet-PIT. RHP Ryan Weber (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Johan Oviedo (0-0, 10.38)

Sunday: Yankees at Red Sox in Fort Myers, 1:05 p.m., NESN+. TBA vs. TBA