Around the Empire: Yankees news - 5/18/23

CBS Sports | Dayn Perry: It’s official: Luis Severino will make his season debut for the Yankees on Sunday in Cincinnati. Severino made his final rehab start Tuesday night, lasting 3.1 innings and 58 pitches for Double-A Somerset. As you can infer based on that pitch count, Severino is still getting fully stretched out, so you can probably pencil him in for somewhere between 60 and 80 pitches in his first start. The right-hander has been very eager to get back on the mound for his club, and at last, he’ll get his chance this coming weekend.

NJ.com | Kevin Manahan: Speaking during an appearance on Jon Heyman/Joel Sherman’s podcast, Hal Steinbrenner outlined what it would take for him to fire Aaron Boone. The owner said that “I think one of the most important things for me is he has the respect of the players... If I saw that disappear, I would make a change.” Basically, as long as the players want to play for Boone, Steinbrenner said, he would remain manager.

ESPN: In case you missed it yesterday, the Yankees officially placed Ian Hamilton on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain. To replace Hamilton, the Yankees called up left-hander Nick Ramirez. We don’t have much info on Hamilton’s possible timeline for return, but with the way the 27-year-old has dominated this year, hopefully he’s back healthy soon.

Sports Illustrated | Tom Verducci: Verducci discusses the still-blurred lines between legal gamesmanship and cheating in baseball. On Tuesday, Domingo Germán was ejected for having a substance that umpire James Hoye claims was “shiny and extremely sticky”, while German claims it was just rosin; pitchers can apply rosin from the official behind the mound. On Monday, Aaron Judge caused a stir by peering to his right while at bat, which, if we was looking for signs from first base coach Travis Chapman, is completely legal. Signs relayed from the dugout are not legal, but MLB has extensive protocols in place now to prevent such information being relayed. It all adds up to a slightly strange state of play, where we mostly know what is and isn’t above board, but it’s not always completely clear.

New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Germán’s ejection puts the Yankees in a tough position. The right-hander has been suspended 10 games and will not appeal, and the Yankees will not be allowed to replace him on the roster. The club will essentially have to work a man down for a week and a half, and will have to find someone to take Germán’s turn in the rotation.