PORT STREET LUCIE — Luis Severino spent the winter focusing more on Zzzzzz than potential K’s.
As last season drew to a close, the veteran right-hander spoke with Eric Cressey, the Yankees’ director of player health and performance.
Cressey specifically wanted to know about Severino’s sleep habits, even though Severino ended his season in the Bronx on the disabled list with an oblique strain.
Severino revealed that he has trouble sleeping.
With Severino heading into free agency, who signed a one-year contract with the Mets in November worth $13 million, Cressey recommended that the pitcher seek a sleep specialist.
After following that advice and wearing a sleep monitor for three nights, Severino believes she discovered the root of the problem was her TV.
“I used to stay up late watching TV,” Severino said Monday. “The TV was always on, because in order to fall asleep you have to go through something, and that’s not good.”
The blue light emitted by the TV was disrupting Severino’s sleep.
Severino, 30, said he gets about five hours of sleep each night, but after making lifestyle changes he is now in the six to seven hour range and expects further improvement.
Music replaces the TV (in a completely darkened bedroom) to help me fall asleep, and Severino makes sure to keep the room temperature at 67 or 68 degrees.
Other habits include eating dinner at 7:30 pm or earlier so it can be properly digested before bed. Severino also found that cherry juice and magnesium helped the cause.
Now I often fall asleep within 10-15 minutes of my head hitting the pillow.
Severino said she still feels refreshed in the morning despite getting more sleep, but she’s more interested in reducing her body’s fatigue.
“Last year I felt that [awake] But I wasn’t feeling well physically because I was pitching,” Severino said.
The Mets are counting on a well-rested Severino to solidify a rotation that was questionable at the beginning of camp.
And with Kodai Senga banned from pitching until mid-March, it is certain that the right-hander will start the season on the disabled list, which only heightens those concerns.
The best-case scenario would be a late April return for Chiga, who was diagnosed with a moderate strain in his right shoulder posterior capsule last week.
“He’s the face of this rotation, so it’s good that a guy like that gets demoted and it’s not a big deal,” Severino said. “He’s going to be out, but it’s not going to be all year. So I think we have a great starting pitching staff that can last until he gets healthy and comes back.”
Last season, Severino pitched in 19 games for the Yankees and posted a 6.65 ERA.
In addition to being on the IL until the end of the season, Severino injured his latissimus dorsi muscle during spring training and was unable to join the Yankees’ rotation until May 21.
He was an All-Star in 2017 and 2018 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and being sidelined by shoulder strain.
However, Severino showed glimpses of his former self in 2022 when he started 19 games for the Yankees and posted a 3.18 ERA.
For Severino, the Clover Park clubhouse is home to coach Carlos Mendoza, who spent four seasons as a bench coach in the Bronx, as well as former Yankees teammates Harrison Bader, Adam Ottavino, Luke Voit and Ben Gamel. It seems like a long time ago.
Mets bullpen coach Jose Rosado, who watched Severino’s pitching sessions in Tampa this winter, was the first pitcher to watch Severino pitch from the bullpen after undergoing a medical exam when he signed with the club in 2012. Became affiliated with the Yankees.
“[Severino] He’s a good, family-oriented guy and he values his craft,” Bader said. “He’s got appliances. I think he’s very honest with himself. Everybody struggles at times in this game, but he dealt with it accordingly. It’s not about suffering, it’s about getting better. It’s about becoming.”
Severino took live batting practice Sunday and said he may repeat the practice before entering a Grapefruit League game later this week.
Already, he is aware of outside predictions that the Mets will struggle to compete in this sort of rebuilding season.
“It was a rebuild for the Yankees in 2017, and they were one game away from making the World Series against Houston, so it doesn’t matter what people think,” Severino said.
That means literally no loss of sleep over outside perception of the Mets.
