A’s Luis Severino hits injured list after tough Yankees start. Who takes his spot?
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- Luis Severino was placed on the 15-day injured list for right shoulder strain.
- Michael Kelly was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to occupy Severino’s roster spot.
- Severino holds a 2-6 record with a 4.16 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 12 starts.
Athletics ace Luis Severino was placed on the 15-day injured list for a right shoulder strain Saturday, a day after he left a rocky start against the New York Yankees after just one inning, the A’s said.
Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Yankees, A’s manager Mark Kotsay said the team would have a more specific diagnosis and timeline for a return after Severino’s imaging had been completely read.
“It’s tough,” Kotsay said. “Someone’s got to step up and fill that role.”
Reliever Michael Kelly was recalled from the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators to take Severino’s roster spot, the A’s said in a Saturday social media post. Kelly gave up three earned runs in four appearances with the A’s this season before getting sent down to the Aviators in early April.
Kelly is with the team and could pitch as soon as Saturday’s matchup with the Yankees, the second of a three-game series. He last pitched for the Aviators on Tuesday, throwing one inning.
Severino’s placement on the injured list follows fellow A’s starter Aaron Civale, who was placed on the 15-day IL on Tuesday. Top prospect Gage Jump was called up and assumed a spot in the rotation after starting later Tuesday. With Kelly exclusively coming out of the bullpen, that means the A’s will have to turn to someone already on the big league roster to fill Severino’s place in the battered rotation.
Kotsay on Satuday said it would be a “day-by-day” process to fill the open spot in the rotation. He said he expects the decision to be made after the team’s off day on Monday, before they head to Chicago for a three-game series against the Cubs.
In Friday’s rocky start, Severino surrendered four runs, none of which were earned, as well as three hits and a home run to Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt before leaving the game with what Kotsay on Friday described as “right arm soreness.”
Severino began warming up for a second inning of work, but was checked out by a trainer before reliever Jose Suarez took over on the bump.
“Every time I threw a pitch it got worse,” Severino said after the game.
The A’s eventually lost 8-2, unable to recover from going down early, a trend during the team’s recent slide in which it has lost six of its last seven games, including getting swept by the Seattle Mariners earlier this week. The Mariners series was the first time the A’s had been swept since their season-opening series against the reigning American League champion Toronto Blue Jays.
Severino, 32, is in the second season of a three-year, $67 million contract with the A’s, which was the largest guaranteed deal in team history at the time. Outfielder Tyler Soderstrom’s seven-year, $86 million deal took the franchise record in December 2025.
In 12 starts this season, Severino holds a 2-6 record, 4.16 ERA and 65 strikeouts across 62 2/3 innings. Before Friday’s start, Severino appeared to be hitting a hot streak, surrendering more than two earned runs in just one of his previous six starts, including a seven-inning gem against the Los Angeles Angels on May 21.
Severino said his right arm started bothering him after his last start against the Angels, however, which led to him getting pushed back from his scheduled rotation spot Tuesday when Jump was called up for his MLB debut and first big league start.
This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 4:57 PM.
