SEVERINO SHUTDOWN! LET THE PITCHING RUMORS FLY

Well, this isn't good news... Luis Severino is shut down, ladies and gentlemen.

In case you missed it, multiple sources have reported that Severino felt sharp pain in his shoulder after pitching in a pre-game bullpen session. It was bad enough that he told Larry Rothschild that he was done and he went to the hospital for an MRI. The test revealed inflammation but no tear. That sounds like a good thing but the inflammation is in the rotator cuff. And now, we all begin to worry.

After Tuesday's game Aaron Boone said that Severino would be shut down for at least two weeks and he is "highly unlikely" to be ready for opening day, read more HERE. Bottom line for the Yankees, whether this is a tear or not it's still bad news for the Yankees. It's not the Yankees don't have other options because they do, but someone else is going to have to step up. One of Domingo German, Luis Cessa or top prospect Jonathan Loaisiga who has had his own history of shoulder issues will have to be the insurance the Yankees are looking for.

The Yankees were counting on these guys to be insurance for CC Sabathia at the back end of the rotation, but now the Yankees will have to also have insurance for their ace. So now what?

Losing Severino for any length of time means the bolstered rotation now becomes vulnerable. But is it vulnerable enough for the Yankees to go out and add another starter? Maybe. Back in January we wondered if the Yankees were still looking for pitching depth, we thought CASHMAN MAY HAVE ONE MORE UP HIS SLEEVE and now that could be even more likely. Now with news of Severino missing time names like Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Keuchel are popping up in the news again.

The Yankees have options with either Gonzalez or Keuchel, but it sounds like they have already thought about Gonzalez before Severino went down. He would definitely be cheaper than Keuchel and considering that the Yankees are already $20 million north of the $206 million threshold, the Yankees are not only subject to the initial 20 percent tax — they’ll also pay a 12 percent surcharge on any additional contracts, which could make Keuchel much less desirable.

I hope Severino is okay. The Yankees are already have enough injury concerns with Aaron Hicks missing time so we don't need anymore. Rotator cuffs are no joke. You can never have too much pitching, and Cashman said he wanted to sign two starters earlier in the winter. I'm sure this isn't how he wanted to do it though.

Let's hope for some good news. It's too early for all of the injury drama, especially for our rotation. None of us want Severino to be the reason why Cashman goes shopping for another starter. All we can do now is be optimistic.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @nyprincessj