As Domingo German arrives at spring training with the rest of the Yankees’ pitchers and catchers this week, it will be his first time back with the team since serving an 81-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence protocol.
German was put on the restricted list in September of 2019 after an incident with his wife during a charity event hosted by CC Sabathia, months before suddenly announcing that he was leaving baseball, only to backtrack the next day.
Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman recently spoke with German as part of the team’s planned sit-down with the 28-year-old as camp opened on Wednesday, and Boone plans to have German in the fold as the Yanks begin to figure out their starting rotation for the 2021 season.
“Cash and I have spoken with Domingo and [bench coach] Carlos Mendoza with us as well,” Boone said in a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday. “Welcoming him back certainly. We know he’s paid a significant price from a career standpoint, really having missed a full season-plus now. Hopefully that’s behind us. We feel like he’s in a good place coming in, and now it’s on him to go out and kind of resurrect his career and compete for a spot on this team.
“It’s been a long year coming back. We feel like he’s done what he’s needed to do to get to this point.”
German played a big role in the Yankees’ rotation in 2018, winning 18 games and tossing 143 innings, finishing with a 4.03 ERA before being put on the restricted list in September. Having not pitched in an MLB game in nearly 18 months, and with an up-and-down experience during winter ball this season, German will have a lot to prove if he is to earn a spot in the rotation, and not just in terms of his performance on the mound.
“Certainly nothing has been promised,” Boone said. “We’re going to be there and try and be supportive as we can moving forward to not only hopefully get the most out of himself on the mound and between the lines, but also becoming the best he can be off the field as well.”
As for German’s suspension, which concluded prior to the end of last season, and the events that led to his 81-game ban, Boone said there were no plans for German to address the team as a group.
“No plans to have him in a group setting do that,” Boone said. “I know he’s had varying conversations at different points with different players, so we’ll continue to encourage that. But no plans for him to address the team as a whole.”
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