Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Severino threw two innings of live batting practice Tuesday and is probably the "most ready" pitcher in big-league camp for the upcoming season, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Boone's comments are certainly eyebrow-raising, given that Severino hasn't been completely healthy for a spring training since 2018 and has made just seven combined regular-season appearances at the big-league level across the past three year due to lat and shoulder injuries in addition to his February 2020 Tommy John surgery. While Severino looks like he'll be part of the Opening Day rotation, the Yankees could still look to monitor his workloads carefully to some degree in 2022, given his light innings counts in recent years. That being said, if Severino is anywhere close to the pitcher he was during his last healthy season in 2018, he and ace Gerrit Cole would form one of the best top-of-the-rotation duos in the American League. Expect Severino's average draft position to continue climbing if he remains healthy and continues to draw raves from the coaching staff and reporters during his throwing sessions and Grapefruit League outings.

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