As Luis Severino signed with the Athletics on a $67 million contract, which is the highest deal for a free agent in the team’s history, the pitcher looks to prove he’s worth every penny. While Severino has addressed the Athletics playoff expectations, he would give insight into why he signed with the team in the first place.
Severino joins the A’s in a transitional period in the team’s history as they are currently without an official city in their name, though they will play in Sacramento. He would speak to the MLB Network about signing the contract and would admit he was “surprised” that the ballclub contacted him about a potential deal.
“Yeah, I mean, at the beginning, I was surprised, you know, when the A’s contacted me and wanted to talk to me and make an offer,” Severino said. “But, you know, we were talking, and I was asking about everybody else, about the clubhouse, the chemistry here. Everybody told me about, you know, this one was like a family.”
“So for me, when I was going to, you know, choose a team to compete again with, that was the main thing for me,” Severino continued. “Playing for a team, that they’re going to support me, you know, they’re gonna go, we’re gonna go out there and fight as a family.”
“We’re going to go out there and fight as a family.”@Athletics ace Luis Severino talks about why he signed with the A’s, working with Pedro Martinez and more.
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Luis Severino on the unusual situation the Athletics are in
With the Athletics making other moves besides Severino, the team could potentially believe that they have a chance to surprise many people this season, as most might already have written them off. Severino himself would have a huge bounce back year with the New York Mets last season as he threw a 3.91 ERA and 161 strikeouts with an 11-7 record.
“I think just knowing my body, you know, having a routine, sticking to that routine all year,” Severino said about his season with the Mets.
The 31-year-old had been with the New York Yankees from 2015 to 2023 before the one year with the Mets as he looks to come back to his former self with the A’s. While the team is in an unusual place as mentioned before, Severino would speak about himself and the rest of the group embracing the situation they’re in.
“For me, it’s gonna be different, you know, it’s gonna be a challenge for everybody,” Severino said. “But when we go out there, we all have to just go out there and embrace what we have to do. The reality is that we play in Sacramento, you know, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a big league field or minor league field, we have to go out there and compete.”
At any rate, the Athletics look to improve after finishing with a 69-93 record which put them fourth in the AL West.
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