TAMPA, Fla. (AP) New York Yankees ace Luis Severino will miss opening day because of an inflamed right shoulder that caused him to be scratched from his first scheduled spring training start.
Severino won’t throw for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone said after Tuesday’s game against Atlanta.
Severino was slated to face the Atlanta Braves but was replaced by Stephan Tarpley.
”When he was getting warmed up for the game, he just threw a pitch and felt something around the lat or back of the shoulder and just didn’t feel right, so walked off,” Boone said during the telecast on the Yankees’ YES Network. ”He’s going to see the doctor and get an MRI this afternoon and kind of hope for the best.”
Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ are also projected to be in the Yankees’ rotation, and Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German are possible replacements.
Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez are available as free agents.
Severino avoided an arbitration hearing with the Yankees and agreed to a $40 million, four-year contract, a deal that includes a team option and could be worth $52.25 million for five seasons.
Severino has a 41-25 career record with a 3.51 ERA.
The 25-year old right-hander is a two-time All-Star. He went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA last year, winning 14 of his first 16 decisions but then five of his last 11. He came out early in both of his postseason starts, going 0-1 in seven innings.
Center fielder Aaron Hicks, who agreed to a $70 million, seven-year contract, was out of the lineup for the second straight day due to a back injury. Acquired from Minnesota in November 2015, Hicks has been on the disabled list in all six of his big league seasons, nine trips in all for hamstring strains (three times), oblique strains (twice), shoulder, forearm and intercostal strains, and a concussion.
A 29-year-old switch-hitter, Hicks took over as the Yankees primary center fielder last year and set career highs with 137 games, 27 homers and 79 RBIs.
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