MAJOR League Baseball ace Luis Severino is staying in the Big Apple — just not with his longtime New York Yankees.
The 29-year-old hard-throwing right-handed pitcher has agreed to a one-year, $13 million contract on Wednesday with the Yankees‘ cross-town rivals, the New York Mets.
Severino spent last season with the Yankees, appearing in 19 games, starting in 18.
He finished the 2023 season with a 3-8 record in 89.1 innings pitched with a 6.65 era and 79 strikeouts.
Severino played the first eight years of his career in New York, and prior to his down year this past season, he had a stellar seven-year stretch in the Yankee pinstripes.
In his first seven seasons, he registered over 638 innings with a 3.39 ERA and 709 strikeouts against 181 walks.
He finished in the top 10 twice in voting for the Cy Young Award during that span.
However, Severino has dealt with a list of injuries. Lat and oblique issues have affected him throughout his career, and he missed the 2020 season (and most of the 2021 season) after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
With the Yankees not getting a deal done with Severino, he decided to stay in the city and join the Mets.
The Mets are coming off a down season where they missed the playoffs, and their starting pitching struggled to reach a level of dominance.
They traded star pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer in July and don’t have many options as starters other than Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana, as the team is expected to target more pitchers in free agency.
New York’s pitching staff finished the year ranked middle of the league in quality starts, era, and wins.
Severino has made over $47 million in his career, which can reach $60 million or more if he can pass his physical Thursday to become a member of the Mets officially.