Yankees keep Luis Severino in New York; all eyes on Aaron Judge

The New York Yankees decided to exercise their 2023 option over Luis Severino on Monday, just as he was getting ready to hit free agency for the first time in his seven-year career.

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com was among those to relay the news on Twitter.

The right-hander, who had his first extensive season since 2018, will now earn $15M in 2023.

Severino was 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts this season and 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in a pair of postseason starts. In seven major league seasons, the 28-year-old is 50-29 with a 3.39 ERA, striking out 709 in 638 innings.

While the Dominican has been limited by a few injuries in the past few seasons, he is one of the strongest starting pitchers in the league when healthy. With a few starters in the game that can outduel Severino, the Yankees will slide him into one of the strongest rotations in the game alongside Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Frankie Montas, and Domingo German.

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What’s happening with Aaron Judge and the Yankees?

On another note, most teams in the league usually have big question marks in their rotations going into the offseason. The Yankees, however, seem pretty assured to be able to keep their attention focused on another important matter: whether or not they can keep Aaron Judge in the Bronx.

According to GM Brian Cashman, New York wants the 30-year-old around: “We would love to be able to bring Aaron Judge back. The career path he’s currently on is Hall-of-Fame-like. [There would be] nothing better than to have him continue to man right field for us and impact us both on and off the field the way he has thus far.”

However, the top home-runner of the American League is awaiting offers from other interested teams including the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

If New York management were to offer Judge a satisfying amount in free agency, there’s a high probability he would stay in pinstripes. The expectation is he will earn over $36 million per season, but it depends on how many years he goes for. For now, the Yankees have a bit of leverage knowing Judge would prefer to stick around, but they will unquestionably have to pay a premium for him.

Judge is coming off a historic 2022 season, hitting .311 with a 42.5% on-base rate and a .686 slugging percentage, including 62 homers and 131 RBIs.