TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees pitcher Luis Severino has thrown off a mound for the first time since Tommy John surgery on Feb. 27 last year.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the 27-year-old right-hander threw 20 pitches, all fastballs, during a bullpen session Tuesday.
“It was a lot of fun for me to get over there on Tuesday morning to be there to see that first one and just to see how he’s moving around,” Boone said before Thursday’s exhibition against Philadelphia in Clearwater.
“There’s just a confidence in that he’s kind of exuding in his health, just watching him play catch, the way his body is, the kind of shape he’s in and the free and easy way in which he’s throwing,” Boone said. “He was really efficient the other day — it really kind of throwing it exactly where he wanted. He was coming out hot. We almost said, ‘Hey, back off a little bit. It’s coming out a little too well.’ And he wasn’t working for it necessarily. So really encouraged about where he’s at to this point.”
Severino took Wednesday off and was to throw off flat ground Thursday. He is expected to be ready for a major league return this summer.
A two-time All-Star, Severino went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 2018 and was given a $40 million, four-year contract. He was scratched from his first scheduled spring training appearance on March 5, 2019, because of rotator cuff inflammation in his right shoulder. He returned Sept. 17 and was 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA over 12 innings in three regular-season starts, then was 0-1 with a 2.16 ERA over 8 1/3 innings in a pair of postseason outings.
Notes: C Robinson Chirinos was going for an X-ray or CT scan on his right hand after he was hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Blake Cederlind in the eighth inning Wednesday night. “He was pretty sore, still getting treatment here late last night,” Boone said. Chirinos is at spring training with a minor league contract.
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