“She called me and said, ‘What happened? Did you win?'” said Severino, referring to his mother and yesterday’s scheduled arbitration hearing. “I said, ‘No, I didn’t win, but I got $40 million dollars.'”
Severino said the two sides agreed to the contract a half-hour before the hearing. “If he’s Sevy it will be good for us and if he is not Sevy it will protect him. If he is what he’s been, this is a good bet for us,” said Brian Cashman to Joel Sherman. Cashman added the Yankees are talking to other players about extensions without revealing who or whether a deal(s) is likely.
Anyway, Spring Training continued today and it was a fairly standard day other than the two press conferences. Here are today’s notes from Tampa:
- Cashman was asked about Manny Machado and Bryce Harper and gave a typical Cashman non-answer. “I would reinforce I’m doing my job. Whether that’s those two (or looking at others). The job is to constantly be open to ways to make this work the best it can,” he said. [Pete Caldera]
- Jacoby Ellsbury is doing 6-8 hours of physical therapy a day but he has not yet been cleared to run at full speed. He isn’t expected to arrive in Tampa until mid-to-late March and will start the regular season on the injured list. [Lindsey Adler, Jack Curry]
- Tommy Kahnle gained weight in an effort to build velocity last summer and that backfired. He said he dropped 25 lbs. over the winter. “I can’t tell how hard I’m throwing, but the catchers have told me it feels like it’s coming out right. That’s encouraging,” he said. [Randy Miller]
- Today’s notable bullpen sessions: Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman. Also, Jonathan Loaisiga and Phil Diehl threw live batting practice. My money’s on Loaisiga starting the Grapefruit League opener next weekend. [Brendan Kuty]
- Turns out new dad Dellin Betances isn’t the only pitcher or catcher who has yet to report. Righty Raynel Espinal is delayed by a visa issue. Those usually take a few days to clear up. [Brendan Kuty]
Tomorrow is the final workout before position players arrive. They’re due in camp Monday. The Yankees will play their first Grapefruit League game one week from today. Hooray for that.