CINCINNATI — At long last — but certainly not soon enough — Luis Severino is ready for his season debut.
After he strained his lat in the final week of spring training, and hoped he would only miss three or four starts, Severino is set to start the Yankees’ series finale against the Reds at Great American Ball Park on Sunday, an 11:35 a.m. first pitch.
“I feel happy to be back,” Severino, who ended up missing nine or 10 starts, said Saturday before the Yankees beat the Reds 7-4 in 10 innings. “Really excited. It’s going to be fun to compete with the guys again, to help my team. I think we’re playing good baseball and now the team is getting healthier.”
After building his pitch count up to 58 across two rehab starts, Severino said he expected to be limited to around 70-75 pitches on Sunday.
“I don’t know if I can do much with 75,” he said, making it clear he was still frustrated by the slow buildup, which the Yankees stood firm on in part because of Severino’s lengthy injury history.
Luis SeverinoAP“Right now, I just need to go out there about my business and not worry about anything else,” said Severino, who is pitching on a $15 million club option. “If I feel good, if I feel healthy, everything else will come around.”
For now, Severino will take the rotation spot of Domingo German, who is serving a 10-game suspension for a failed foreign-substance check. But because the Yankees cannot replace German on the roster during his suspension, they optioned Jhony Brito to Triple-A after his start Saturday to make room for Severino.
Carlos Rodon flew on Saturday from Tampa to New York, where he will continue to rehab from back stiffness that delayed his return from a forearm muscle strain he suffered in spring training.
“It’s just time,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We want him with us. We’ll get him built up with us.”
The left-hander, whom the Yankees signed to a six-year, $162-million contract in the offseason, is still in the midst of a throwing program after getting cortisone-like injections in his back May 9. He threw from 120 feet on Friday and “everything went well,” according to Boone.
Ben Rortvedt made his long-awaited Yankees debut on Saturday and delivered an instant impact, going 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
“Today was awesome,” said Rortvedt, who has dealt with multiple injuries since he was acquired in the Gary Sanchez trade last year. “I tried to take it all in. It was a great day all-around, great win.”
Rortvedt was called up Thursday when Jose Trevino landed on the IL with a strained hamstring. Trevino took part in some agility drills on the field before the game Saturday.
“He’s already moving around pretty well, so it does feel like it is going to be a short stint,” Boone said.
