Yanks ace Severino returning to N.Y. for MRI

HOUSTON -- Yankees ace Luis Severino will be returning to New York on Monday night from Tampa, Florida, to get an MRI and be reevaluated by head team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad, manager Aaron Boone said.

The MRI and other testing will be conducted Tuesday.

Severino, who was shut down at the beginning of March due to rotator cuff inflammation in his right shoulder, isn't experiencing pain; but he isn't where he wants to be, and the team wants an examination to determine why he isn't progressing as expected, Boone said ahead of the Yankees' series opener in Houston.

The right-handed pitcher has been long-tossing and throwing from various distances since the end of last month. Over the weekend, he began throwing at 130 feet and, according to Boone, was having some of his best rehab work.

"He's feeling OK, but why isn't he getting to that point where it's, 'Yeah, let's go to the mound, let's get there,'" Boone said. "So, we just want to make sure we feel really good about it and he feels really good about it. So, we're going to get him up to New York and get some answers there."

While pain isn't a concern, Boone said Severino's arm is "just not quite what it needs to be." Severino played long toss on Saturday and felt fine, but Boone said he "didn't feel as great" on Monday after playing catch, which led to the decision to send him for more testing.

Severino has not pitched off a mound since experiencing shoulder discomfort following a warm-up pitch before his first start of spring training on March 5.

The Yankees initially shut him down for two weeks and scratched him from his Opening Day start. They had hoped he would be able to rejoin the rotation by mid-April, but general manager Brian Cashman later pushed that to around May 1.

"I'm hoping that it's just him not being able to quite get over the hump yet," Boone said. "The original testing that we did with him led us to be pretty confident. But we've got to make sure that he's right."

Severino went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA last season. Earlier this spring, he signed a four-year, $40 million contract extension.

ESPN's Coley Harvey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.