Athletics to sign Luis Severino
The first big splash of the off-season for the A’s
The A’s are on the free agent board! The club is in agreement with right-handed starter Luis Severino on a 3-year, $67 million dollar contract, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN:
BREAKING: Right-hander Luis Severino and the A’s are in agreement on a three-year, $67 million contract, sources tell ESPN. It is the largest guarantee in the history of the A’s franchise. And even with the qualifying offer attached, Severino got well over market expectations.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 5, 2024
The club was reportedly trying to boost their payroll and this definitely fits the bill. The contract with Severino is the largest free agent signing in club history and could be just the first of several free agent signings the club makes over the coming weeks, especially with the Winter Meetings approaching. The deal could see Severino in Sacramento for all three years, baring a trade or an opt out, which he reportedly has after the second year of the deal:
Luis Severino's deal with the A's includes an opt-out after the second season, per sources. The A's went into this winter seeking pitching, and they get one of the best on the market in Severino, whose career earnings now top $130 million. Free agent pitching prices remain high.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 5, 2024
The soon-to-be 31-year-old Severino started his career as a top prospect in the New York Yankees system before making his big league debut in 2015. Over the next 9 years Severino would face the highs of starting, including an Opening Day start, and the lows of being injured, missing the entirety of the shortened 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery and making all of four appearances the next year. By 2022 he looked back to his normal self before getting torched in ‘23, which would be his final season with the Yankees.
Not his final season in New York, however. Severino signed with the New York Mets on a 1-year prove-it deal, betting on himself that he could bounce back once again. And again he did just that, posting a solid 3.91 ERA over 31 starts, which may have been more impressive considering his injury history. He was a workhorse for the Mets rotation and that’s what the club is hoping they are getting from Severino, a workhorse who the team can count on every week. He’ll immediately slot into the top of the rotation and looks likely to make the Opening Day start as of this writing. Welcome aboard, Luis!