By Erwin Quiñonez
Nov 29, 2023, 7:38 PM EST
Dominican pitcher Luis Severino, who had spent his entire career with the Yankees, has decided to stay in New York, but with a different uniform, that of the Mets, an organization with which he is close to reaching an agreement for next season.
After several weeks of rumors about the metropolitan team’s interest in the 29-year-old right-hander, this Wednesday Mark Feinsand and Jeff Passan of MLB.com reported that both parties are one step away from closing a one-year agreement, while Jeff ESPN’s Passan revealed that it will be for $13 million dollars.
Right-hander Luis Severino and the New York Mets are finalizing a one-year, $13 million contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Severino, 29, will join the Mets and a rotation in significant need of help after spending his eight-year career with the New York Yankees.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 29, 2023
The agreement does not include an option for 2025 so the Dominican will return to free agency that year, however he could earn another $2 million in performance bonuses with the Mets.
This is the first signing the New York team has made so far this offseason, but more importantly, it is the first pitcher they add to a rotation that is currently devastated, especially with the departures of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. in the middle of the previous harvest.
Luis Severino, who came to be considered the future Ace of the Yankees during his first seasons in the Major Leagues, has seen how his career has gone from strength to strength due to the various injuries he has suffered. In 2023 he had a 6.65 ERA in 19 games, 18 of them as a starter.
Now, the Mets hope to have the version of Severino from 2017 and 2018, years in which he was called to the All-Star Game and came to be considered one of the best pitchers in the American League.
Once this deal is closed, the New York team will be able to focus on trying to sign the Japanese pitcher Yoshinubi Yamamoto, who is one of the most striking pieces of free agency along with his compatriot Shohei Ohtani and who would be one of the team’s priorities .
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