Luis Severino says he would have taken less money to stay with Mets
Starter Luis Severino #40 of the Athletics walks off the field during a game against the Seattle Mariners on Opening Day at T-Mobile Park on March 27, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 4-2. Credit: Getty Images/Stephen Brashear
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Luis Severino badly wanted to return to the Mets as a free agent last offseason, so much so that he offered to take significantly less money than he wound up receiving from his new team, the Athletics, he said Friday.
But the Mets simply were not interested, he added.
“I thought I had a chance [to stay],” Severino said before the Mets-Athletics series opener. “I feel like I did a good job out there. I feel like I behaved myself well in the clubhouse with all the guys. At the end, they had different plans.”
Severino signed a three-year, $67 million contract with the A’s.
Before that, though, he communicated to the Mets — through his agent — that he would happily come back to Queens for two years and $40 million. That would have been about $2 million less per year, as well as one fewer year.
“What my agent told me — I’m not going to say it’s 100% — but my agent told me the only offer they were going to give me was the same deal they got [Frankie] Montas on,” Severino said.
The Mets brought in Montas, coincidentally a former member of the Athletics, for two years and $34 million. He won’t pitch for at least another month-plus because of a strained right lat.
The difference between what the Mets apparently were willing to offer and what Severino would have taken: $3 million per season.
“At the beginning, I was shocked. But at the end, I knew it was a business and they need to take care of other stuff,” Severino said. “I knew it was going to be less money, but I just liked the environment there. The trainers were unbelievable. Everything there was good. So I was trying to sacrifice more money by staying in a place where I know I can be better, I can get better. But at the end, I was not in the plans.
“For me, [the Montas offer] wasn’t fair. But at the end, I feel like they were not [offering more] because they have other options, other guys they feel could do the same job.”
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said: “Proud of the fact that he got a nice contract. The hard work paid off. I’m proud of him.”
In addition to Montas, the Mets brought in converted reliever Clay Holmes (three years and $38 million) and Griffin Canning (one year for $4.25 million) to help fill out the rotation. They also re-signed Sean Manaea, who became close with Severino when they were new guys on the 2024 Mets, for three years and $75 million.
So now Severino is calling Northern California home, where he can, for example, hang out in Napa Valley on his off day Thursday but is suiting up for the vagabond Athletics.
This season, the A’s moved into Sutter Health Park, a minor-league stadium shared with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats (the Giants’ affiliate). With bridges burned in Oakland, they are supposed to play here through 2027 while their still-theoretical Las Vegas ballpark is built.
As part of the move, the Athletics are just the Athletics — no city name attached. In scoreboard shorthand, the Athletics are ATH. For a franchise that has been based in Philadelphia, Kansas City and Oakland over the past century-plus, being sort of homeless, between cities, is almost a natural next step.
“I mean, the situation that we have is not the best,” Severino said. “But this is what we have right now. So we have to adjust to what we have and try to do the best job we can.”
Said Gio Urshela, Severino’s former Yankees and current A’s teammate: “It’s baseball. We’re playing in a minor-league stadium, but we’re here, but we gotta stay focused, play the game.”
The worst part, they said in separate interviews, is the Athletics’ clubhouse is in leftfield. That is a long walk from the home dugout on the first-base side.
The visitors’ clubhouse is in the same building, more left-centerfield. One problem, per Mendoza, is not having a net/batting cage near the dugout for the designated hitter and bench players to stay ready.
“It’s what we have,” Severino said.
Severino has a 4.74 ERA through three starts, with ugly outings against the Cubs and Padres. He’ll face the Mets on Sunday.
Quick question: How many good hitters do the Mets have?
Severino laughed. Last season, he made headlines when he revealed that in a group chat with former Yankees teammates, he chirped that the Yankees “only have two good hitters.”
So, these Mets?
“They got a couple,” Severino said, still laughing. “They got a couple good hitters. I’m not going to say names, but they got a couple great hitters out there . . . Last year, it was a great lineup. Having [Juan] Soto in that lineup is crazy.”
Extra bases
Jeff McNeil (right oblique strain) started a rehab assignment with Low-A St. Lucie on Friday. He also will play Sunday and Tuesday, Mendoza said, before the Mets figure out what is next . . . Francisco Alvarez (hand surgery) also is with St. Lucie but will join Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday . . . Luis Torrens (right forearm bruise) was in the lineup for the first time in a week.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
