CINCINNATI — Luis Severino lost his sweeper in a misfire in the season opener. He believes he’s found it again after discovering it during a bullpen session this week.
The Mets right-hander was happy with his players and sweepers during the Grapefruit League’s strong run, but never brought a pitch into the regular season.
His debut on Saturday (six runs on 11 hits in five innings in a loss to the Brewers) included a two-run home run off middle-order spinner Rhys Hoskins after he hit a flat sweeper but couldn’t sweep it. It was
Severino’s confusion prompted him to meet with bullpen Sean Manaea and Johan Ramirez (both of whom throw sweepers) and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner this week.
Manaea and Ramirez showed Severino a grip on pitches (different from Severino’s slider), but Severino noticed that he was subtly losing the grip he had used during his successful spring.
“I was like, ‘This isn’t going well,'” Severino said Friday before the Mets’ series opener against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Severino is scheduled to throw the ball Saturday.
“Spring training was good. Then all of a sudden it went away. When I had the ball, they told me, ‘That’s not how a sweeper throws.’ This is the correct way. ”
Hefner noticed something was wrong with the product from his profile and some of his video work, and then he witnessed an epiphany.
Severino tweaked his grip, started pitching, and saw his movement return.
“Sometimes that happens,” Hefner said. And then you won’t be able to pitch as well as you should. ”
The Mets don’t have a pitcher as good as Severino, a two-time All-Star and one of the best pitchers in the game in 2017 and 2018 with the Yankees.
But after several injuries and seasons, Severino was a mess last year and had the worst contract season possible, finishing with a 6.65 ERA.
The Mets pounced on the former crosstown ace, placing a $13 million bet on whether he could help Severino regain his old self.
While this spring brought optimism, his debut brought concerns that Severino was not saved. Many Mets have had a bad first few weeks of the season, but hitters like Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo are likely to snap out of it.
There’s no guarantee Severino will bounce back, and his poor first game was perhaps the worst sign of the team’s season thus far.
But Severino is hardly discouraged, as he believes the problems have been fixed. His velocity is back (he averaged 95.5 mph, 98.1 mph fastball per touch) and he’s happy with his control (he didn’t issue a walk against Milwaukee).
“I feel like we’re really, really close,” Severino said.
The Mets will need him in their rotation. Kodai Senga will likely be out until June due to a strained shoulder, and his replacement, Tyler Megill, will also be sidelined with a strained right shoulder.
The Mets have been trying hard enough to sign Julio Teheran to join a rotation that includes Friday starter Jose Quintana, prospect Manaea and solid Adrian Hauser.
Much of the Mets’ surprise this season relies on flyers like Severino finding their ceiling.
So the bullpen could be a huge development for Severino and his team.
“It usually doesn’t work out that way,” Hefner said. “Usually it’s a two or three start fix or something mechanical, something like that.
“It’s just a subtle grip issue and all [sweeper] It was really cool to see you doing what you want me to do. ”
