The New York Yankees and starter Luis Severino have avoided arbitration for the remainder of his rookie contract. On Friday, the team announced the four-year extension worth $40 million. A fifth-year club option for the 2023 season worth $15 million is also included.
The Yankees and Severino were scheduled for an arbitration hearing Friday morning. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Severino’s agent Nelson Montes de Oca came to terms prior, canceling the hearing. Severino’s camp was ready to propose a $5.25 million request and the Yankees were offering $4.4 million.
Severino will earn a $2 million signing bonus, with base salaries of $4 million in 2019, $10 million in 2020, $10.25 million in 2021 and $11 million in 2022. The option year would take over Severino’s first year of free agency. If the Yankees do exercise their option, Severino will hit the open market at the age of 29.
The deal comes two days after Aaron Nola signed a similar extension with the Philadelphia Phillies. Nola’s deal is also four years with a club option, with his earnings being $45 million.
The Yankees have locked up their ace for, most likely, cheaper than what they would have paid him through arbitration. The league saw the likes of Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, and Jacob deGrom all score at least $13 million in their arbitration cases this offseason.
The whole Yankees starting rotation, other than C.C. Sabathia, who announced Saturday he will retire after the 2019 season, is under contract for the next two seasons. Severino will figure to serve as the ace the ace, as the rotation rounds out with Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ, and Sabathia.
2017 and 2018 both resulted in all-star appearances for Severino. In both seasons, he finished top-10 in the American League in wins, strikeouts, ERA, innings pitched and WHIP. He finished ninth in Cy Young voting in 2018 and third the season before.
The soon to be 25-year-old Severino is expected to serve as the Yankees Opening Day starter for the second consecutive season.
