12:02 pm | March 5, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino has been shut down for two weeks after an MRI showed he has rotator cuff inflammation in right shoulder, manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday.
Severino will not be ready in time to start on Opening Day.
He was a late scratch ahead of his scheduled appearance Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves due to right shoulder discomfort.
“When he was getting warmed up for the game, he just threw a pitch and felt something around the lat or back of the shoulder and just didn’t feel right, so [he] walked off,” Boone said during the telecast on the Yankees’ YES Network. “He’s going to see the doctor and get an MRI this afternoon and kind of hope for the best.”
The start would have been Severino’s first of spring training.
Minutes before the game, the right-hander was seen going through his normal warm-up routine in the outfield. After the national anthem and a delay of seven minutes, left-handed pitcher Stephen Tarpley jogged onto the field with the rest of the starting Yankees, replacing Severino and making the last-minute start.
Severino will be treated with anti-inflammatories and resume a throwing program in two weeks.
The ace of the Yankees’ pitching staff, Severino went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA last season. Earlier this spring, he signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension.
Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ are also projected to be in the Yankees’ rotation, and Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German are possible replacements until Severino is ready.
Center fielder Aaron Hicks, who signed a seven-year, $70 million extension last week, wasn’t listed in the pregame lineup as he continues to recover from a tight back. Hicks hasn’t played since last Friday.
Boone had previously speculated that Hicks would return for Tuesday’s game.
Hicks has been on the disabled list in all six of his big league seasons, nine trips in all for hamstring strains (three times), oblique strains (twice), shoulder, forearm and intercostal strains, and a concussion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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