He has thrown at least 191 innings each of the last two seasons and posted a combined E.R.A. of 3.18 across both years. In that stretch, the Yankees were 44-19 in games he started.
“He’s a great pitcher,” said Manager Aaron Boone, unable to comment on the deal until it was announced later in the day. “I hope he’s here for a long time.”
Severino is the first in a long line of young stars the Yankees may try to secure for years to come. Once led by older players, the Yankees overhauled their roster in recent years and built around a core of younger homegrown players (Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Dellin Betances, Miguel Andujar and Severino) or players that blossomed after arriving in the Bronx (Didi Gregorius, Gleyber Torres and Aaron Hicks).
As that core grows together, starts earning more or inches closer to free agency, the Yankees are weighing ways of keeping it together. In particular, they like three standouts who can become free agents after this season: Betances, 30; Hicks, 29; and soon-to-be-29 Gregorius, although his recovery from Tommy John surgery hurts his value.
Judge and Sanchez are 26 and will be eligible for arbitration for the first time next season, so the Yankees may wait until then to broach long-term contract talks, as they did with Severino.
But the balance in negotiations seems to be tilting toward the clubs, as free agency is no longer the hallowed grounds that players once dreamed about. Off-seasons have turned into protracted dances with teams, evidenced by the superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, and many other top players, remaining unsigned as spring training begins.
One effect has been an increasing number of players signing deals considered team-friendly before reaching free agency. While that trend has drawn some scrutiny — some frowned on the Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola’s recent four-year, $45 million extension, which could end up costing him two free-agent seasons and keep him off the market until his age-31 season — some players seem to have accepted the writing on the wall about future earnings.
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