The New York Yankees placed right-hander Luis Severino on the 15-day injured list Thursday because of a low-grade lat strain, a day after he left his start against the Cincinnati Reds early.
In other moves, the Yankees reinstated right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga from the 15-day injured list and selected right-hander Ryan Weber’s contract from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Loaisiga, a reliever, had been sidelined since May 23 because of shoulder inflammation.
Severino, whose velocity was down in his start Wednesday night, underwent an MRI on Thursday. He told reporters Thursday that his arm was a little sore.
It’s the first real hiccup this season for a terrific New York rotation that has remained almost entirely healthy, a huge reason the Yankees have built the best record in baseball with a few days left before the All-Star break.
Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Jameson Taillon, Severino and Jordan Montgomery combined to start 84 of the club’s first 88 games.
The 28-year-old Severino allowed homers to Kyle Farmer, Mike Moustakas and Stuart Fairchild in a four-pitch span in the second inning Wednesday night, a 7-6 Yankees win. After manager Aaron Boone and an athletic trainer went to the mound, Severino finished the inning. He went to the mound to start the third and threw a warm-up pitch, then walked off and was replaced by rookie JP Sears.
Severino averaged 94.1 mph with 18 fastballs, down from his season average of 96.1 mph.
Severino won 19 games in 2018 and was selected for his second straight All-Star team. After signing a four-year, $40 million contract in February 2019, Severino strained a latissimus dorsi muscle and didn’t make his first start until Sept. 17. He made two more in the postseason, then had Tommy John surgery Feb. 27, 2020.
He returned Sept. 21 last season and made four relief appearances plus another in the American League wild-card game.
Severino is 5-3 with a 3.45 ERA in 16 starts in 2022.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.