The New York Yankees could be opening the season without three-fifths of their projected starting rotation.
Righthander Luis Severino has a low-grade lat strain, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Saturday, putting the two-time All-Star at risk of starting Major League Baseball’s season on the injured list.
“Obviously it’s going to put him in jeopardy to start the year,” Boone said.
Severino, 29, went 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts last season. He struck out 112 in 102 innings.
Boone expressed optimism this wouldn’t be a long-term issue but acknowledged that Severino “most likely” would get placed on the injured list. The manager said the issue arose after Severino made his last start.
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“Afterwards when he was kind of doing his workout, arm-care stuff, he just felt some tightness in there,” Boone said. “He came in the next day and it was a little tight, and then yesterday he was going to go out and throw and that tightness was still there enough to where he wanted to go get it looked at.”
The Yankees already won’t have righthander Frankie Montas or lefthander Carlos Rodón for the start of the season.
Montas is recovering from shoulder surgery. He won’t begin throwing until at least late May.
Rodón, who joined the Yankees by signing a $162 million, six-year contract in the offseason, has a left forearm strain that will cause him to open the season on the injured list. He has been an All-Star the last two seasons, in 2021 with the Chicago White Sox and in 2022 with the San Francisco Giants.
The only projected starters from the Yankees’ rotation likely to be ready for the beginning of the season are five-time All-Star righthander Gerrit Cole and 2022 All-Star lefthander Nestor Cortes.
deGrom tunes up for Opening Day
Rangers righthander Jacob deGrom struck out six over 3⅔ shutout innings against the San Diego Padres in his final start before making his regular-season debut.
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Texas had announced Friday that deGrom would get the Opening Day start Thursday when the Rangers host the 2022 National League champion Philadelphia Phillies. The two-time Cy Young Award winner signed a five-year, $185 million contract with Texas in the offseason after spending nine seasons with the Mets.
In 20 career starts against the Phillies, deGrom is 9-1 with a 2.17 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 120 innings.
Voit opts out
First baseman Luke Voit opted out of his minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, giving the veteran slugger the opportunity to negotiate with other teams. The 32-year-old also could still return to the Brewers if the sides agree on a major league contract.
Voit split the 2022 season between the Padres and Nationals. He broke into the majors with the Cardinals and also played for the Yankees. In the 60-game 2020 season with New York, Voit led the majors with 22 home runs.
Also, Milwaukee righthander Adrian Houser left his spring start against the Athletics after 1 innings due to groin tightness.
Mets give Bundy a try
The New York Mets reached agreement with righthanded pitcher Dylan Bundy on a minor league deal.
Bundy went 8-8 with a 4.89 ERA in 29 starts for the Twins last season. He owns a 54-65 career record with a 4.74 ERA over eight seasons with the Orioles, Angels, and Twins.
Downs, Taylor cut
Among the players to be cut from big league camps, infielder Jeter Downs (Nationals) and lefthanded reliever Josh Taylor (Royals) were assigned to Triple A teams. Both Downs and Taylor were in the Red Sox organization last season.
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