Yankees suggest offseason workout plan for Luis Severino

2016 was supposed to be the year Luis Severino took the next step in his career. After going 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA in 11 starts the year before, Severino figured to be a reliable starter in a rotation with a few question marks. Instead, the 22-year-old righty struggled, starting the season 0-7 with a 7.46 ERA before getting hurt and being demoted to the minors. While in the minors, the Yankees wanted Severino to use his changeup more, rather than throwing mostly fastballs and sliders. He returned to the Bronx in July as a reliever and experienced some success, going 3-2 with a 3.73 ERA out of the pen before making two starts at the end of the season. Now, the Yankees want Severino to change up his workout regimen. According to beat writer Bryan Hoch, the Yankees believe Severino may have become too muscular last year. This may have affected his mechanics and command - both of which were inconsistent. The Yankees want him to focus more on improving flexibility. "There's a lot of theories," GM Brian Cashman said. "He came in physically built stronger. He hit the weights pretty strongly. Did that affect him one way or the other? I know that through [pitching coach] Larry [Rothschild] and our strength coach, we told him this winter that he needed to stay more flexible and stay off the bulk." https://twitter.com/BryanHoch/status/818985322126176256 Cashman recently spoke about the strong probability of bolstering the rotation internally. With two spots up for grabs, Severino will be competing with Adam Warren, Chad Green, Luis Cessa and Bryan Mitchell for a starting job. Hopefully, the shake-up of his workout plan can help Severino regain his 2015 form in what figures to be an important season for him.