Luis Severino Agrees Two-Year Deal With Oakland Athletics

By Lachlan Wellington December 07, 2024 05:04

Photo by Getty Images

The Oakland Athletics have agreed to a two-year deal with a player option for another year with former New York Mets right-handed starting pitcher Luis Severino.

Effectively a three-year deal, Severino's contract is said to be in the region of $67 million, according to MLB.com.

This could potentially be the largest deal ever for the traditionally cheap Athletics who often operate on a low-budget relying on their farm system and making cheaper deals than other franchises for players.

Yes, if you are still reading, the Oakland Athletics are actually going to pay a relative premium for an established major league starter. The deal will potentially surpass what the A’s paid for Eric Chavez from 2005-2010 with a six-year $66 million contract- the previous high they have paid for a player.

Severino will likely immediately become the ace for the Athletics joining the rest of their probable starting rotation of left-hander JP Sears as well as right-handers Joey Estes and Mitch Spence. Rounding out the rotation would likely be from J.T Ginn, Osvaldo Bido, Joe Boyle or Brady Basso. However, as these four are not as proven, the A’s could make another move in free agency to bolster their starting pitching yet again.

Severino spent his first eight major league seasons with the New York Yankees before joining the New York Mets at the start of 2024 in free agency. Sevy holds a 65-44 overall record with a 3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, while he also has two complete games in his career.

In 2024, the Dominican native formed part of the starting rotation which helped the Mets to the postseason despite a tough start. Severino went 11-7 in 31 games with a 3.91 ERA and 1.24 WHIP.

2024 was also a comeback season for Sevy after several injury-ripe seasons with the Yankees in his last few seasons in the Bronx as this season was his first full one since 2018 in which he pitched 182 innings with 161 strikeouts.

Sevy’s four-seamer averaged 96.2 MPH in 2024, however, he has made some adjustments since his time with the Yankees as he now relies more on whiffs and soft contacts as he has incorporated a sinker and a sweeper which opponents averaged just .131 against last season.

Additionally, Severino is a two-time All-Star and finished third in the American League Cy Young standings in 2017 too behind winner Corey Kluber and runner-up Chris Sale.

Due to Severino receiving a qualifying offer from the Mets and his deal exceeding $50 million, the A’s will lose their third-highest 2025 Draft pick between the fourth and fifth rounds.

Sevy’s injury record does of course raise some concerns for Oakland, however, when he is healthy he has great stuff and is an ace-caliber starter. The reason they did this is also due to supplement the young core that they have assembled as they believe these guys can bring the Athletics back to winning ways and competing.

This young core includes flame-throwing bullpen option Mason Miller, outfielder Lawrence Butler, outfielder Brent Rooker, outfielder JJ Bleday, catcher Shea Langeleirs, second baseman Zack Gelof and first baseman Tyler Soderstorm. Oakland is possibly the most optimistic they have been for quite some time and this is likely why they have decided to actually make a splash in free agency ahead of the 2025 season.