Luis Severino unhappy with delayed rehab assignment

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Say this much for Luis Severino: He almost always speaks his mind.

Severino, slated to start a rehab assignment later this week — either Wednesday or Thursday — with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, is disappointed that that assignment didn’t begin last week, as the Yankees previously said it would, and he made his opinion clear on Sunday.

The previous weekend, while the Yankees were in Arlington for a series against the Rangers, Aaron Boone said Severino’s rehab clock officially would start the following week with Low-A Tampa. But the Yankees scrapped the plan, instead having Severino throw a three-inning, 40-pitch simulated game in private Friday at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, away from the eyes of rival scouts and, most important, the media.

“I think it was unnecessary not to throw in Low-A, but I do whatever they tell me to do,” said Severino, who started the season on the injured list with a right lat strain. “But I feel good.”

He did say later: “I know they want what’s best for me.”

Boone had no issue with Severino’s comments, which made their way to the club seemingly minutes after he made them.

“He wants to pitch, he wants to get back here, he wants to get in the rotation, he feels good,” Boone said. “I just look at it as a competitor wanting to go.”

The Yankees’ caution with Severino is understandable given his recent injury history. Since signing a four-year, $40 million extension early in spring training in 2019, he has appeared in only 26 games (22 starts), going 9-4 with a 2.85 ERA.

Severino said “hopefully” two rehab starts would be enough, but realistically he’ll probably need at least three starts in the minors, and perhaps even four, in an effort to build him back up.

Peraza improving

Rookie infielder Oswald Peraza, who left Wednesday night’s game in the ninth inning after rolling his ankle while running to second base, went through infield drills and ran the bases a couple of hours before Sunday’s game.

“I would expect him to be an option off the bench,” Boone said.

Peraza was not used in the 8-7, 10-inning loss to Tampa Bay.

Finally, an extra-base hit for Hicks

Aaron Hicks had an RBI double in the fourth inning, his first extra-base hit of the season. He entered the game with a .135/.196/.135 slash line and entered the at-bat without anything more than a single in 53 at-bats and 57 plate appearances.

Hicks was involved in a strange play in the 10th. He began the inning on second base as the ghost runner, moved to third on a fly ball and went on contact when Gleyber Torres grounded to short. Wander Franco fired the ball home and Hicks eventually was caught in what was scored as a 6-2-5-1-2-5 rundown, although he stayed in it long enough for Torres to get to third.

What made it strange: Late in the rundown, Hicks made a heads-up play,  abruptly going down to the ground in an attempt to avoid being tagged. Rays pitcher Garrett Cleavinger fell over him as he tried to make the tag, suffering a knee injury in the process — and plate umpire Will Little made  no call.

Hicks, who later said he felt himself get tagged — "I felt a lot of contact,'' he said —  stayed down on his knees for a second or two before glancing at Little, noting the lack of a call and belatedly taking off for home. 

Catcher Christian Bethancourt, also noting the no-call,  picked up the ball — which the injured Cleavinger had placed on the ground after tumbling over Hicks — and flipped it underhand to third baseman Isaac Paredes covering home. Only then did Little make the out call. Given the scoring on the play, that presumably was the tag that produced the out.