The Athletics signed one of the better free agent pitchers on the board on December 5. Luis Severino will reportedly join the Athletics on a three-year, $67MM deal that becomes the largest free agent contract handed out by the franchise in its history. The move comes amidst the rise of several promising young bats and a resurgant 2024 campaign for the ex-Met.
A Look at Severino
The 2023 campaign was a tough one for Luis Severino. Severino dealt with pitch-tipping accusations, unrefined mechanics, lost movement on his fastball, and inability to get his slider spinning right. The ex-Yankee took a one-year deal with the Mets last winter. And now, one year later, Severino looks like a completely different pitcher now.
By all accounts last season, Severino not only got his career back on track but also became a reliable innings-eater. Between the regular season and playoffs, the former Met threw 198.2 IP (182 in regular season, 16.2 in postseason). Among his 31 regular season starts, he threw six or more innings in 18 contests, and five or more frames in 28 of 31.
During the regular season, Severino struck out 161 and owned a 3.91 ERA. It was a stark improvement from 2023, when his ERA was 6.65 over 89.1 IP.
So, what changed? Severino made several changes to his arsenal last season. One was something I speculated last season, and that was increased usage of the sinker. Severino used the two-seamer more during the late portion of 2023, unsurprising given he lost a lot of induced movement and carry on the four-seamer. That, in theory, should lead to making it difficult for batters to decipher what fastball is coming.
Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened.
Severino’s sinker was the pitcher he used 25% of the time last season, second in usage behind only the four-seamer. It was an offering he used not to generate more ground balls (3% more GB in 2024) but also keep hitters honest to the arm side.
Severino saw more whiffs up in the zone last season. And, one can assume his two-seamer played a key role in that.
He also added a mid-80s sweeper to his arsenal, to pair with a slightly hard slider. Severino’s sweeper had jump to it, and good movement despite getting away from him at times.
The 30-year-old’s change in pitch usage led to a predicatable drop in whiffs (22.0%) — a 5.8% drop from 2022, although up from 2023 (20.8%) — thanks to the sinker. But, Severino was deftly able to give hitters different looks. He no longer became reliant on his four-seamer to get outs.
Per ESPN, the Athletics agreed on a three-year, $67MM deal with Luis Severino. It also comes with an opt-out after the second year.
Analysis
The shocker — likely to most MLB fans here — is that the A’s were willing to commit over $60MM, should Severino see throught the entire deal. However, it’s not shocking on paper, given the A’s clear need for pitching at the Major League level.
As we noted back in November, the A’s have holes in both their lineup and pitching staff. The Athletics finished 26th last season in starting pitcher ERA (4.76) and just three pitchers gave the team 100 or more innings. That can be partially attributed to injuries but also simply because the A’s didn’t have significant depth.
Severino immediately becomes the A’s ace as the team heads to Sacramento, and joins a rotation that has some promising starters. JP Sears threw over 180 innings last season, showing durability. Osvaldo Bido only threw 63.1 IP but looked like a budding star at times, thanks to a nearly-unhittable fastball.
Oakland still has Joey Estes and Mitch Spence, plus Ken Waldichuk — who missed all of 2024 and likely will miss some, or all, of 2025 thanks to Tommy John surgery — on their roster.
It’s a start for the Athletics. However, it’s clear given what we saw last season is the Athletics, with several good, young bats, are a team on the rise. Now, the A’s hope Severino can give the team length in games, something not seen much last season.
Make sure to check out our other free agency coverage, including the Red Sox’s recent signing of Aroldis Chapman.