What’s wrong, what it means

TAMPA — All spring, even as his Grapefruit League ERA soared, Yankees starter Luis Severino has been upbeat, elated that after years of injury woes, he’s finally healthy.

That clean bill of health didn’t end up lasting very long, though. Just days before Opening Day — the beginning of Severino’s final season before hitting free agency — the right-hander is hurt once again.

Severino has been diagnosed with a low-grade right lat strain, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed on Saturday morning. The right-hander will miss his first start of the regular season and likely land on the 15-day injured list to begin the year.

Earlier on Saturday morning, NJ Advance Media reported that Severino had been scratched from his final start of the spring on Sunday at Steinbrenner Field.

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The discomfort in Severino’s side can be traced back to his four-inning outing against the Tigers on Tuesday, tightness that popped up during his postgame arm care. Factoring in that start, Severino posted a 9.00 ERA in Grapefruit League play, allowing 15 runs, 15 hits and six home runs in 15 innings.

Boone said the Yankees are hopeful that this injury is not a long-term issue, although Severino’s recent injury history only heightens the level of concern.

“He’s worked his tail off to put himself in a good spot here,” Boone said. “To have it happen a week before the season, I know it’s gotta be frustrating for him. Now it’s move on, get right, get better and get back.”

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If Severino does in fact land on the IL, it’ll be his fourth stint on the injured list in the last five years. The 29-year-old has pitched in only 26 games since 2018 — his second of back-to-back All-Star seasons — missing significant periods of time due to Tommy John surgery (2020), rotator cuff inflammation (2019) and another low grade lat strain (2022). The lat strain Severino dealt with last season kept him out for two months.

“That sucks for him because I know where he’s at, how he’s looked this spring, how the ball’s coming out, the kind of condition he’s in,” Boone said. “And then on top of obviously the other things we’ve had, but then you try and take a step back and hopefully believe that it’s something minor, a short-term thing.”

The Yankees were already bracing to enter the regular season without starters Carlos Rodón (forearm strain) and Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery). Montas could miss the entire year, certainly the first half, while Rodón is expected to be back sometime in May.

Right-hander Clarke Schmidt is now expected to get the ball in Game 2 of the regular season, per Boone. Schmidt was originally supposed to compete for the final spot in the rotation with Domingo Germán. Now, both are necessities after ace Gerrit Cole and All-Star Nestor Cortes.

Boone mentioned right-hander Jhony Brito as one candidate to fill Severino’s spot in the rotation. Brito, 25, was added to the 40-man roster last fall after posting a 3.31 ERA in 18 appearances in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Other internal candidates include Deivi García, Matt Krook and Randy Vásquez.

A trade was already a possibility due to the Yankees’ sparse starting pitcher depth, an organizational strength that was slashed at last summer’s trade deadline. Severino’s setback certainly hurts the Yankees’ leverage, but may also influence them to be much more aggressive with other teams over the next few days.

“We’re going through a lot of permutations of how we would piece it together roster wise in those first 10 days, two weeks,” Boone said.