Luis Severino is no longer Luis Gil’s teammate, but he remains a mentor to the young Yankees starter.
This became clear after the Subway series opener Tuesday night in the Bronx, when Gil was asked why he contacted his former teammatenow from the crosstown Mets, to help him with his slider.
“Severino is someone I’ve always admired since he’s been here, growing up in this organization,” Gil said through an interpreter.
“He’s a pitcher with more experience than me. He has knowledge to offer, I’ve taken that into account and put it into practice here with our pitching coach. I’m getting very good results with that pitch.”
Severino, 30, pitched for the Yankees from 2015-23, earning back-to-back All-Star selections in 2017 and 2018 before dealing with a series of injuries.
The Yankees acquired Gil as a minor leaguer in a 2018 trade that sent outfielder Jake Cave to the Twins. Severino, who like Gil is from the Dominican Republic, took the right-hander under his wing.
“People from the DR, if you know anybody from the DR on my team and I’m the veteran, I’m going to take care of my guy,” Severino told the Daily News Wednesday. “If they need anything, I’m there for them.”
Gil, 26, made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2021 and underwent Tommy John surgery the following season. This year, he was in the Yankees’ rotation out of spring training, replacing ace Gerrit Cole, who missed the first three months of the season with elbow inflammation.
Gil, who throws with power and is still classified as a rookie, has had a torrid start to 2024, going 9-1 with a 2.03 ERA over his first 14 games.
But a rough patch followed. Gil posted a 14.90 ERA in his next three starts, including a June 26 outing against the Mets in which he allowed five runs in 4.1 innings at Citi Field.
It was amid those struggles that Gil reached out to Severino about his slider, the latter revealed to MLB.com this week.
Gil’s slider has since become a weapon for him. He threw 40 sliders — more than any other pitch — in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Mets, recording four strikeouts and five swings-and-misses with it.
“I just shared some tips that I have, some takes that have worked for me,” Severino told The News. “For me, it took me a month to get there, and he only needed one bullpen [session].”
Severino has also stayed in touch with Clarke Schmidt, telling The News last month that he advised the Yankees right-hander after he was diagnosed with a lat muscle strain. Severino has dealt with lat muscle strains in 2019, 2022 and 2023.
Despite signing a one-year deal with the rival Mets in the offseason, Severino said he remains friends with Gil.
“The last thing we talked about [about]”It was just about taking care of your body,” Severino said. “It’s a long season, and just speak up if you feel something. It’s better to miss one start than the rest of the season.”
