LOS ANGELES — Manager Luis Severino was sufficiently impressed by the Yankees' breakthrough in October that he was prepared to amend comments he half-jokingly made about his former team during the regular season.
The Mets right-hander revealed in July that he twisted a former teammate in a text chain by saying the Yankees “have two good hitters.”
Did that number change after watching the Yankees beat the Guardians and advance to the World Series?
“I think they’re two and a half years old,” Severino said with a laugh.
However, Severino did not mention his name Sunday after the Mets lost to the Dodgers in Game 6 of the NL CS.
He added that the Yankees and Dodgers appear to be on even footing heading into Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.
“I think everyone has been waiting for a Yankees-Dodgers World Series for a long time,” Severino said. “It's going to be fun. I think they're equally talented, so it's going to be hard to choose one.”
Severino said the Yankees are better now than when the Mets faced them during the regular season.
The Mets won all four games in this year's Subway Series.
“They have healthier players,” Severino said. “Juan Soto is Juan Soto; [Giancarlo] Stanton has been unbelievable in the playoffs. When a team like that gets healthy, I think they're in a good position. ”
Severino declined to say whether he would root for the Yankees in the World Series.
He previously told the Post that would be the case if the Mets were already eliminated.
“For me, if we can't win the World Series, I want the Yankees to win the World Series,” Severino said in July. “I made a lot of friends there, not only with the players, but also with the coaches and staff, so even if we don't win, I want the Yankees to win.”
Severino, who is set to become a free agent, is happy he was able to stay healthy enough to start 31 games for the Mets during the regular season and post a 3.91 ERA.
“We fought until the end and this team was unbelievable,” Severino said, adding that he would trust his agent when choosing his next contract.
