MIAMI — Coach Luis Severino expects to be booed a lot when he returns to Yankee Stadium on Tuesday for the first time in an opponent’s uniform.
That’s understandable for the Mets ace, but he also pointed out Monday that his personality hasn’t completely changed just because he now plays his home games in Queens instead of the Bronx.
Before the Mets’ 6-4 victory in the series finale against the Marlins, the right-hander was asked if he still wanted the Yankees to succeed.
Severino pitched for the Yankees from 2015-2023 and signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Mets last offseason.
“For me, if we don’t win the World Series, I want the Yankees to win it,” Severino told The Post. “I’ve made a lot of friends with the Yankees, I keep in touch with not just the players, but the coaches and the staff. So if we don’t win it, I want the Yankees to win it.”
Would Severino watch such a World Series?
“One hundred percent,” Severino said, “and I’ll be rooting for the Yankees. … I won’t be wearing a Yankees hat, but I’ll be rooting for my guys in my heart.”
Severino is not scheduled to pitch against the Yankees, making his second consecutive appearance in the Subway Series a disappointment.
Before the teams met at Citi Field last month, manager Carlos Mendoza reshuffled the rotation to start left-handers David Peterson and Sean Manaea against the Yankees.
Just as Severino has been pushing for a start against his former team this week, Mendoza plans to use Jose Quintana (another left-hander) and Manaea for the next two games.
Severino caused a stir last weekend when he shared an exchange he had with his former Yankees teammates in a group chat.
Severino was teased about being scared to face his former teammate, but he said he wasn’t scared because the Yankees “only have two good hitters.”
Severino was infuriated by the comments.
“There was a lot of people, but everyone on the team knew I was joking,” Severino said. “A lot of fans got worked up about it. The people I really care about are the guys on my team, and they knew I was joking. Sometimes someone will get upset, but at the end of the day I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody.”
Harrison Bader, a New York native who grew up rooting for the Yankees, will also return to Yankee Stadium for the first time in a Mets uniform. Bader played for the Yankees from 2022-2023.
But unlike Severino, the veteran outfielder said he won’t root for the Yankees to win the World Series if the Mets can’t.
“I don’t want anybody to win unless it’s me or my team,” Bader said. “I want the Mets to win the World Series, that’s it. If we don’t win, I’m not interested.”
Bader was clean-shaven on Monday and said he shaved his beard after his mother scolded him.
But the fact that he shaved his beard before a series against the Yankees (where players are banned from having beards or long hair) didn’t go unnoticed by one of his teammates.
“I actually thought that was funny because I’d never thought about it,” Bader said. “My mom told me I [shaved] “I sent her the picture.”
Severino was asked if he had any advice for Quintana going up against the Yankees’ lineup.
“[Aaron] “Judge is a guy you have to make him chase you. If you don’t chase him, he’s like, ‘Go to first base,’ and then he’s going to face somebody else,” Severino said. “A guy like him, [Juan] Soto beat you because they are the main players, so instead of trying to be the hero, you’re better off overtaking them and playing other guys.”
