MINNEAPOLIS — Rehabbing Yankees ace Luis Severino heard what GM Brian Cashman stated recently about him possibly returning as a reliever when he’s finally ready to begin his season.

He’s onboard with that.

The two-time All-Star righty isn’t OK with staying in the bullpen until 2020.

Severino, who has been out all season with a lat strain, hopes to be back with the Yankees by September and starting games by the final week of the season. And after that, he wants to be starting postseason games.

“Yeah, of course,” Severino told NJ Advance Media. “I think I’m going to be back before the playoffs and I think I’ll be able to start at least a couple games before the playoffs.

“If I have to start off throwing one inning and then my second outing two or three innings, I’ll be happy to do it. But I think when we get to that point – the playoffs – I’ll be ready to throw around 100 pitches.”

His grand plan is not to be just starting playoff games, but being matched up with opponents’ aces. If the Yankees meet up with the AL West-leading Houston Astros in a 2017 ALCS rematch, he’d love to be matched up against Justin Verlander.

“Of course,” he said. “I want to compete against the best and Verlander is one of the best, so that would be great.”

For the time being, Severino still is a long way from being major league ready and probably one more setback from being shut down for the season. But he’s been throwing for the last 10 days after being shut down from late June until July 15 due to a setback, and so far his arm feels as good as ever.

This week, Severino has been throwing about 55 pitches at 75 feet. In about two weeks, he could be throwing off the mound. After that, it’ll be like beginning spring training, possibly six more weeks of building up his arm strength and then facing hitters in simulated games and/or Florida Instructional League games because the minor league season will be over.

“I’m just happy we are at 75 feet right now and I’m feeling good,” Severino said. “But once I get on the mound, I would say I’ll throw at least four bullpens. Two a week. Then in two or three weeks, I would face hitters. I’ll need to face hitters I would say three times, and then after that I’ll be ready to pitch.”

Sitting out this season has been tough on Severino mentally at times because he worked hard all winter training to be even better than he was last season when he was 19-8 with a 3.38 ERA and 220 strikeouts over 191 1/3 innings in his second full big-league season. His spring training began with a high, too, when he avoided a salary arbitration hearing at the last minute on Feb. 15 to sign a four-year, $40-million extension that could climb to five years for $52.5 million if the Yanks eventually pick up his 2023 club option.

The first sign of trouble came on March 5 when Severino was scratched from his first Grapefruit League start due to right shoulder discomfort. An MRI revealed rotator cuff inflammation, which was supposed to lead to two weeks of no throwing and then possibly a return to the majors by early May.

He resumed throwing on March 20, but by April 9 another medical exam shockingly revealed a more serious injury, a Grade 2 lat strain that would prevent him from throwing for six weeks. Severino started throwing again in late May and was progressing well until his late June setback, which led to more down time and then starting from scratch yet again.

It’s been frustrating at times.

“The doctor told me this is an injury that takes time and you can do nothing to make it heal faster,” Severino said. “Just time makes it heal.”

He’s in a good place now.

“It’s not the end of the world,” Severino said. “You’re used to being there at the start of the season with your team, but there are a lot of worse things to be worrying about in the world. Right now it’s about the team. We’re winning.”

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Severino plans on being part of the winning in a big way come October. His dream ending to this season is being an impact player for a long playoff run that ends with a World Series championship.

“If I go to the playoffs and do a good job, nobody is going to remember what happened in the season,” Severino said. "They’ll remember what I did in the playoffs. If we go all the way, nobody is going to remember I was hurt or I didn’t pitch until the end of the season.”

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.