AL East: Severino has solid spring training debut

Luis Severino made his first start of the spring for the Yankees on Sunday afternoon and he appeared to be in good form. In the two innings that he pitched, the 23-year old showed off a slider that was vastly different from the one that gave him so much trouble last year. Now he has to make sure the command of his fastball remains in check. Hopefully this sets the bar on what is to come for the season.

Here’s what other news is floating around the American League East:

• Maybe it’s a new year / new him, but other than his physical condition, where will Pablo Sandoval improve?
• The Blue Jays steam roll the Pirates 12-0 in their spring training game yesterday. Ouch.
• Mark our words: Kevin Kiermaier is going to have one monster of a season.
• Could the Pedro Strop deal set a precedent for a potential Brad Brach deal with Baltimore?
• What will Josh Rutledge add to the Red Sox?
• Fear not Jays fans, Josh Donaldson’s calf injury is healing along just fine.
• Last season’s Rays were doomed from the start by the team’s lack of depth across the board. Will the 2017 squad learn from last year’s mistakes?
• Chris Tillman and Zach Britton are both progressing decently enough with their injuries, but not fast enough.
• Here are three bold yet plausible predications for the Yankees’ 2017 season.
• Think of this season as so: your team can only mess up so bad to do more damage than these Red Sox blunders.
• Here are five key Blue Jays story lines you should be following this spring training.
• In case you missed Corey Dickerson’s opposite field shot during Monday’s game against the Phillies, here it is in all its glory.
• Maybe this new intentional walk rule won’t be so bad for the Orioles?
• Changing up his grip could be the key element in Michael Pineda’s changeup going the distance.