Domingo German is back with the Yankees for the first time since September of 2019 after serving an 81-game suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence policy, and his presence may already be causing some friction.
Zack Britton spoke to reporters on a Zoom call Thursday and was asked about German, who was put on the restricted list after a domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend at a charity event hosted by CC Sabathia late in the 2019 season, and Britton didn’t mince words when speaking his mind about German’s actions.
“I don’t think he owes anything to me,” Britton said. “I think it’s off the field stuff that he needs to take care of. Sometimes you don’t get to control who your teammates are, and that’s the situation. I don’t agree with what he did. I don’t think it has any place in the game or off the field at all.”
German has caused frustration for the Yankees even after his suspension, using social media to post cryptic messages that seemed to suggest retirement twice in the past year, most recently on Wednesday night when he posted to his Instagram account that “everything was over,” only to delete all of his previous posts before writing “I am ready” in Spanish.
Aaron Boone said Wednesday that he and Brian Cashman had sat down with German and believed he had shown enough growth to return to the team and compete for a spot in the starting rotation. But it appears some teammates like Britton may be much more reluctant to welcome German back into the fold.
“He doesn’t owe me anything,” Britton said. “I think that’s something that he’s going to have to deal with on his own and make better choices going forward.”
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