Luis Severino
Luis Severino was another workhorse starting pitcher in the Mets’ rotation last year. After spending his first nine years in the major leagues with the NY Yankees, Severino traveled from the Bronx to Queens to join the Mets. His first and only season with the Mets was a solid overall campaign.
Severino made 31 starts and pitched 182 innings, both of which were the highest marks he’s had since 2018. Overall, the veteran right-hander owned a 3.91 ERA, 4.21 FIP, and 1.24 WHIP. His 21.2% K%, 7.9% walk rate, and 1.14 HR/9 ratio were all roughly league average. Severino was even better than Quintana at limiting hard contact, with an 87.1 MPH exit velocity (88th percentile) and a 5.7% barrel rate (82nd percentile).
Many were shocked to see that Severino agreed to a three-year, $67 million deal with the Athletics of all teams. Severino is off to another solid start, with a 4.11 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 3.39 FIP throughout his first 65.2 innings of work. Although he has seen a dip in strikeout percentage to just 17.1%, his walk rate has moved in the right direction to 7.1%, and he has just a 0.55 HR/9 while ranking in the 88th percentile of barrel rate at 4.3%.
Severino would likely be the Mets’ worst starting pitcher right now, had they picked him up for another season. Like Quintana, they would have been just fine with or without Severino. The Mets definitely took a risk letting go of two starting pitchers who made over 30 starts for them last season, but that risk has ultimately worked out in the Mets’ favor. Severino was the highest-ranked free agent from the Mets' most recent offseason, ranking 13th on MLB TR’s top 50 list.
