The New York Yankees placed right-hander Luis Severino on the 15-day injured list with a left upper-body injury on Saturday, a move that could end his career in pinstripes.
In a corresponding transaction, the Yankees recalled right-hander Ron Marinaccio from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He is 4-5 with a 4.08 ERA in 44 relief appearances this season.
The oft-injured Severino exited Friday night’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers after allowing a single to Brice Turang to start the fifth inning. He appeared fine physically in the first four innings, as he gave up two runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts. But after facing Turang, he grabbed his left side in obvious pain.
“I feel like somebody shot me,” Severino said after the game. “It’s a deep, sharp pain.”
He is scheduled to undergo testing on Saturday, and there’s no guarantee he will return to the mound in what would be the final week of the season.
Severino made his season debut in mid-May after recovery from a lat strain that had sidelined him since spring training, an injury that also plagued him last season.
After All-Star seasons in 2017 and ’18, the Yankees signed Severino to a four-year, $40 million contract extension. He now is in the fifth, team option year of that deal, paying him $15 million this season.
Since his combined 33-14 record and 3.18 ERA in 2017-18, Severino is 13-12 with a 4.47 ERA in 45 games. That includes this season’s mark of 4-8 with a 6.65 ERA in 19 appearances (18 starts).
In his eighth season, all with the Yankees, Severino, 29, is 54-37 with a 3.79 ERA in 141 games (125 starts).
Severino missed most of the 2019 season with a lat strain and all of 2020 due to Tommy John surgery. He also has had problems with his groin and shoulder.
Whether the Yankees re-sign him this winter is anyone’s guess.
“There’s a lot at stake for him,” manager Aaron Boone said Friday. “He’s been through a lot over these last several years (with) injuries, and when he has pitched, he’s pitched really well. This year, when he came back, he really had an extended struggle when he’s been healthy for the first time in his career.”
–Field Level Media