Athletics manager Mark Kotsay provided an unfortunate update on injured right-hander Luis Severino yesterday. Kotsay told reporters, including Martín Gallegos of MLB.com, that he doesn’t expect Severino to pitch again this season, as there is not enough time in his throwing program to fully build up.
Severino hit the 15-day injured list at the end of May with a strain of his shoulder capsule and subscapularis muscle. That pointed toward a long-term absence, and he was unsurprisingly transferred to the 60-day IL in June. He has not made any rehab appearances in the minor leagues, and even if he started now, the Athletics are well out of contention and have no interest in rushing him back for meaningless games in September.
That all but closes the book on Severino’s 2026 campaign. He made 12 starts with a 4.16 ERA before the shoulder injury, striking out 24.0% of opposing hitters against an elevated 11.4% walk rate and a slight uptick in home runs. Most of the damage came at home. In 25 1/3 innings at Sutter Health Park, Severino had a 5.33 ERA and allowed seven home runs, compared to his 3.38 ERA and two home runs allowed in 37 1/3 innings on the road. The split is even more pronounced going back to last year. Since joining the Athletics, Severino has a 5.85 ERA at home and a 3.14 ERA on the road.
Even with those drastic home-road splits, Severino has been a capable innings eater for the A’s as they await the construction of their new stadium in Las Vegas. He has given them 225 1/3 innings of 4.43 ERA ball and leads the staff with 3.1 WAR since the start of 2025, according to FanGraphs. The three-year, $67MM deal he signed entering 2025 was still probably an overpay by the Athletics, but it still gave them a veteran placeholder for the rotation who’s held up his end of the bargain.
Severino has a $22MM player option for the 2027 season. He’s previously expressed dissatisfaction with pitching at a minor league park, which might have driven him to decline that option and try his luck in free agency. Now that he’s out for the rest of the season, Severino may consider accepting the option and returning to free agency after 2027. That would give him a chance at a better and healthier platform season, barring game cancellations as a result of the inevitable lockout.
Gage Jump and J.T. Ginn have shown promise out of the rotation this year and are controlled for multiple seasons, but overall the projected 2027 rotation is young and inexperienced. The A’s will likely decline their $15MM club option on Jeffrey Springs in favor of a $750K buyout. It wouldn’t be the worst outcome for the team if Severino opts in for next year and once again serves as a veteran innings eater. They could presumably allocate money that would have gone to Springs to another free agent starter on a short-term deal, giving some cover as the young arms keep developing.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images
