The Yankees have been struck with a rash of injuries this spring, and that continued on March 25. Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that RHP Luis Severino will miss the start of the 2023 season with a lat strain, yet another blow to the team from The Bronx. It’s an injury that — at least for the beginning of the year — will test the Yankees’ pitching depth.

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A Look at Severino

This isn’t the first time that Yankees starter Luis Severino has dealt with lat problems. Severino missed time in both 2019 and 2022 due to lat strains. The righty did manage to throw 102 innings despite injury troubles in 2022, and went 7-3 with a 3.18 ERA and 112 strikeouts over 102 innings.

Severino didn’t have a great spring, but did strike out nine over four in his final Spring Training appearance against the Tigers. He was slated to make one more start on March 25, but was scratched earlier in the day.

It’s a big year for both the Yankees and Severino. Not only are the Yanks looking to make it back to the World Series for the first time, but Severino is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. The 29-year-old is a highly valuable arm when healthy, thanks to a hard fastball that pairs well with his plus changeup and an underrated slider that doesn’t get as much attention as his change. Severino, though, has hit the 100 IP plateau in a single season on just three occasions since his MLB debut in 2015.

A Look at the Yankees

As things stand right now, the Yankees rotation is set to include Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes, and Domingo German. Manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Schmidt will get the start on April 1, after Cole begins the season on March 30.

The rotation looks quite different than our original projection, which included Carlos Rodón, Frankie Montas, and Severino. Montas will miss significant time after undergoing shoulder surgery, but a recent update on Rodón indicates that he may not be all that far behind. Severino, meanwhile, will not throw for the next five to seven days.

While it does look different, New York still has plenty of talent in that rotation. Cole and Cortes were among the game’s best in 2022, while German — a former 18-game winner — has flashed good stuff this spring. New York, though, will need to figure out how to fill out the void of Severino.

To replace Severino in the interim, the easiest solution would be to call upon a name like Jhony Brito, who Boone named as a potential option, or Deivi Garcia. Both pitched well in the spring, although the latter did walk five batters over 9.1 innings.

The good news for the Yankees is that New York does have two off days between March 30-April 8. But, six straight games between April 1-6 means that New York may need to get creative in order to piece together one of those games. After that early stretch, the Yankees will be busy for the rest of the month. After an off day on April 7, the Yankees have just one more quiet day (April 17) on the calendar for the month of April.