In December, Luis Severino decided to stay in New York. However, this time, he’s not wearing pinstripes. The New York Mets and Luis Severino agreed to a 1-year deal. Severino tossed 89.1 innings in 2023, posting a 6.65 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. Additionally, opponents batted .301 against him. Severino certainly didn’t have a great 2023 season. Hence, I’m just wondering if the Mets really made a good decision on signing him.
To understand a little bit more, I chose to check on the great baseball reference website.
From 2015 to 2023, Severino played for the Yankees. He didn’t pitch in 2020 because of recovering from Tommy John surgery. Over these 8 seasons, Severino made 125 starts and 16 relief appearances. He threw 727.1 innings and owned a 3.79 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Batting average against Severino was .234. If we only look at these stats, he seems to be a reliable choice.
Moreover, let’s see if he’s pitching well against NL East opponents.
Previously, Severino didn’t face the teams in the NL East very often. He took the mound against the Braves twice, posting a 2.70 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. The last time he faced the Braves was on August 15, 2023. He didn’t pitch well in that game. Severino gave up 2 home runs in 4 innings.
Nonetheless, against the other 3 teams in the NL East, Severino hasn’t allowed any runs by far in his career. The last time he pitched against the Marlins was in 2018 and he tossed 6 innings with 8 strikeouts. Also in 2018, he made a start against the Phillies in June, this time, he went 7 innings with 9 strikeouts. Furthermore, last season, Severino faced the Nationals for the first time in his career. He did a great job in that game. Severino went 6.2 innings and allowed just one hit.
Severino didn’t face teams in the NL East so often. But he did pitch well in those games against the NL East opponents.
However, when we look at statcast stats. There’s something that the Mets might have to worry about. Opponents’ hard-hit rate against Severino was over 40% over the last 2 seasons. In particular, in 2023, the hard-hit rate against Severino was 45%, which is the highest by far in his career. Furthermore, last season, Severino’s strikeout rate dropped to 18.9%, which is the lowest so far in his career. Moreover, his walk rate went up to over 8%.
The Mets had a very disappointing 2023 season and they became the seller last summer. The Mets decided to send Max Scherzer to the Rangers and trade Justin Verlander to the Astros. Without these 2 top arms, the Mets certainly need to sign starting pitchers during the offseason to enhance the rotation. Nonetheless, it’s a very interesting move to sign Luis Severino because Severino had a tough 2023 season. Nevertheless, David Stearns just became the first president of baseball operations in Mets franchise history. He had a successful career while being with the Brewers. Perhaps, Stearns and the Mets front office already have plans to help Severino, who will turn 30 in February, pitch like what he did in 2017 or 2018.
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