Former Yankees' Ace Believes He Can Bounce-Back With Mets Due To This Factor

With the loss of ace starting pitcher Kodai Senga, who could miss several months with a shoulder injury, the New York Mets will have to lean on the rest of their rotation, which doesn't have much upside.

However, they do have a former ace and All-Star starter in Luis Severino, who used to dominate for the Yankees once upon a time. The only issue is that it has been quite some time since Severino pitched to that form, as injuries and under performance have hampered him for the past five seasons.

Severino is now 30-years-old and coming off the worst statistical season of his career, where he posted a 6.65 ERA in 89.1 innings and 18 total starts (19 games). He has also made just 40 starts since the start of 2019 due to a slew of injuries.

But the righty believes he was tipping pitches and lacked fastball command in 2023, which led to him getting shelled by opposing hitters on a regular basis. And luckily, he believes he may have found the cure. 

According to Mike Puma of The New York Post, Severino had a chat Eric Cressey, the Yankees’ director of player health and performance towards the end of last season about his sleep habits. 

Severino, who admitted he had trouble sleeping, was recommended to a sleep specialist by Cressey. 

This led to Severino wearing a sleep monitor for three nights, which led to his light bulb moment, discovering his issues traced back to watching television at night.

"I used to stay up late and watch TV,” Severino told The Post on Monday. “My TV was always on, because in order to fall asleep I have to experience something and that’s bad.”

Per Puma, the blue light emitted from the TV was disrupting Severino's sleep.

With these new found changes, Severino went from sleeping five hours a night to six-to-seven hours. He is expecting further improvement.

Severino has found that music and a lowered room temperature of 67-to-68 degrees has been the trick, and a strong replacement to TV.

Among other habits include eating dinner at 7:30 p.m. to properly digest before bedtime, drinking cherry juice and taking magnesium. 

As a result, he typically falls asleep between 10 and 15 minutes after laying his head on the pillow.

While Severino says these habits haven't made him feel more fresh in the morning, his focus is improving his fatigue.

“Last year I was feeling [awake] but my body was not feeling good because I was pitching,” Severino said.

The Mets are hoping that these tweaks can re-create Severino's past success on the mound and keep him healthier.

They need him to step up with Senga out, and it would be a huge bonus to a Mets' rotation that lacks star power.

Manager Carlos Mendoza who spent several years with Severino in the Bronx is confident he can bounce-back given his level of competitiveness and dedication to his craft. We shall see if Severino's new-found sleep habits minimize his fatigue, so he can replicate his All-Star form.