The Athletics announced that Luis Severino has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. Left-hander Hogan Harris was called up from Triple-A to take Severino’s spot on the active roster.
The severity of the strain isn’t yet known, but anything more than a Grade 1 strain (the least-serious type) could put the remainder of Severino’s 2025 season in jeopardy. Since the A’s are out of contention, the team might choose to just shut the right-hander down if he’s going to miss anything beyond six weeks of action, as there would be little point in bringing Severino just to make a token start or two at season’s end.
Severino’s injury adds another layer to what has been an unusual first season for the veteran’s Athletics tenure. The A’s shocked many in the baseball world last winter with an uncharacteristic spending splurge when they signed Severino a three-year, $67MM free agent contract. Even if this deal and other relatively larger expenditures from the A’s were as much about avoiding a grievance from the players’ union as much as they were about improving the roster, on paper Severino certainly seemed like a solid addition to the club’s pitching staff.
Instead, Severino has a 4.82 ERA over 136 1/3 innings, as well as very poor strikeout and whiff rates. While Severino hasn’t missed many bats over his last few seasons, he has allowed far more hard contact this year than he did during his more successful 2024 campaign with the Mets.
The story of Severino’s 2025 season may lie in his home/road splits, as the righty has a 3.17 ERA over 65 1/3 away innings and a garish 6.34 ERA in 71 innings at Sutter Health Park. Severino has been public about his displeasure with playing in the minor league ballpark, and this reportedly made A’s management eager to trade the righty. Despite some rumors, no deal was struck prior to the deadline, which isn’t surprising given how the Athletics reportedly weren’t keen on eating much or any of Severino’s salary to accommodate any potential move.
Severino is owed $20MM in 2026, and he has a $22MM player option for the 2027 season. Given his feelings about Sutter Health Park, an opt-out might seem like a possibility even if his numbers continue to be uninspiring, which perhaps creates an unusual situation for both the player and the team down the road. Barring a trade for another team’s unwelcome contract, Severino’s opt-out clause and recent performance would make an offseason move tricky, and this oblique strain now adds another wrinkle to the situation.
I’m guessing he’s done for the year.
They shouldn’t have had to eat any of his salary and good on them for not doing it. His road numbers were worth the remaining pay.
Hard not to conclude the lack of proper accommodations are causing the rebuild to stall out. The Athletics play 81 games at SHP and for a division rival its 7 at absolute most. That’s a huge disadvantage right out of the gate but Fisher doesn’t care since said rebuild was triggered by an ideological opposition to spending money on the previous core.
Can a team with one winning season in the last 9 claim they ever had a “core”?
You’re confusing the Athletics with the Rangers. The former had 4 straight winning seasons from 2018 to 2021.
Actually I did an AI search and that’s what I got maybe Skynet isn’t taking over anytime soon lol
Unless that’s what Skynet wants you to think…
Not the smartest off-season additions but maybe he’ll do better next year.
They had to spend money or risk losing their revenue sharing money. Overpaying one guy was more efficient. Now they only have one bad contract instead of several, and they still got to pocket the other teams’ money.
I remember when the Jays had to play at a minor league park. Some of the players then made similar comments to those of Severino. Which is to say, they didn’t lie about the fact that playing in a minor league park kind of sucks when you’re a big leaguer compared to playing in a stadium with full amenities. I am baffled as to why Severino is constantly dragged over the coals in ever article about him regarding some completely innocuous and honest comments about feelings I am willing to bet most of the A’s have right now.
Because Severino knew exactly what the situation was gonna be before he chose to sign with the A’s. I guarantee that no other team was offering anything close to the money the A’s offered, and Severino chose the money over playing in a major league park for a major league team not owned by Fischer.
Too boot. He’s already played many S.T.s at Steinbrenner Field prior to their renovations. I can understand if he was traded to play there. Why b*tch about something you signed up for?
The Jays players didn’t use it as an excuse. They rallied together in tough circumstances, in an ‘us against the world’ mentality and tried to use it as motivation. They did so in circumstances that were out of their control.
As the others have already mentioned, Severino chose this in order to get the biggest bag of cash he could. That’s totally fair, but he shouldn’t whine about it every 5 minutes after he made the choice.
That’s why he gets rightfully called out for it.
Also, for what it’s worth, Hyun Jin Ryu, Robbie Ray and Taijuan Walker (three of the Jays starters that season) had better ERA’s at their tiny home park then they did on the road. They didn’t use it as an excuse at all.
Guy’s happy, he won’t need to pitch in that minor league stadium.
Probably an unpopular opinion here with A’s fans, but I don’t think severino has been that bad. He’s basically been an innings eater back of the rotation arm. Obviously you’d love him to pitch like a #3 starter instead of a 4-5, but innings are important for a young team. Basically the A’s paid him like a 3, and he’s pitched more like a 4-5. The comments are separate issue, but I think that’s been more inconvenient for management rather than him being a clubhouse issue. People just act like it’s the worst contract ever, and I don’t think it’s anywhere close to as bad as people say.
Yeah hard to fault him for complaining about a poor playing situation. That is not a clubhouse problem. If anything that tells his teammates he thinks they deserve better treatment and they should stand up for themselves, not just be glad they get a game check. Plus they are getting paid by the A’s sucking welfare so it’s not like Fisher is cutting checks anyway.
He’s better than Frankie Montas. I’m out.
So are you!
They’d better hope he doesn’t get pulled for the year, or longer.