On Friday afternoon, all eyes were on Domingo Germán. The 28-year-old righthander took the mound for his Spring debut against the Tigers. He last pitched in an MLB game on September 18, 2019, after being suspended the entire 2020 season for an incident of domestic violence.
First Inning
Germán started the game on a perfect note, striking out Robbie Grossman on three pitches. After getting a fastball for a called strike, he got Grossman to swing through consecutive changeups for out #1.
JaCoby Jones was the second batter, and was started off with consecutive curveballs. The pitch looked sharp, and got Germán ahead 0-2. After missing with a fastball, he went back to the curve. The 1-2 pitch was fairly elevated in the zone, but Jones was off balance and could only foul it off. He eventually got Jones to fly out to right-center on another curve.
With 2 outs and the bases empty, Germán started Willi Castro off with a curve, which missed. The 1-0 pitch was a changeup, and Castro was out in front and fouled it off. Germán’s 1-1 was a fastball, again fouled back. He ended up utilizing his changeup to strike out Castro and end the inning.
It was as good a start as Germán, or the Yankees, could possibly imagine. He retired the side in order, striking out two and throwing only 14 pitches. He was in command of all three pitches (fastball, curve, changeup) and had no problem generating strikes with any of them.
Germán also did a great job of mixing those pitches as well, with 4 fastballs, 6 curves, and 4 changeups in his 14 pitches.
Second Inning
Germán returned for the second inning, and it didn’t start as great as the first. After falling behind 1-0 to Wilson Ramos, he hung a curveball that Ramos drove down the line for a leadoff double.
The next batter, Tigers 1st-rounder Spencer Torkelson, fell behind 0-2 on consecutive fastballs. Germán came back with a strong changeup, just missing off the corner for a ball. The 1-2 pitch was a curveball, missing low to even the count. Germán went back to the fastball, and caught Torkelson looking at the knees for strike three.
With one out and a man on second, Germán fell behind 2-0 on Harold Castro, starting him with a curve and following that with a changeup. He went to the changeup a second time, and got Castro to pop up weakly to third base, where Miguel Andujar made the catch for the second out.
After consecutive outs, Germán started off Akil Baddoo with a fastball for a strike. He then went to another fastball, then a change, both of which missed the zone. A second straight change was fouled off to even the count, 2-2. After Baddoo fouled another one off, he took a low curve that missed. With a 3-2 count, Germán went to the change, and got Baddoo to flail over the top to end the inning.
It was another great inning for Germán. While he seemed to struggle locating the curveball compared to his first inning, he had no issue pounding the zone with the fastball and the changeup. Germán struck out two more in the inning, and threw 17 pitches in the frame.
He depended on all of his pitches rather consistently, as well. Germán threw 11 fastballs, 10 curveballs, and 10 changeups in the outing. To these eyes, the changeup was especially sharp.
Germán and the Yankees
The final line for Germán read as follows: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.
It is generally believed that Germán will be competing for the 5th spot in the rotation with youngster Deivi Garcia. However, with the jump from 60 games to 162, it seems almost as likely that the Yankees would carry 6 starters, to help lessen the load. This seems to be a common trend around the league, with several teams stating their intentions (or, at least, their openness) to commit to the idea.
A 6-man rotation for the Yankees would likely go as follows:
- Gerrit Cole
- Corey Kluber
- Jameson Taillon
- Jordan Montgomery
- Deivi Garcia
- Domingo Germán
Germán and Society
To be clear: Germán’s actions were abhorrent. There should be no place for that in baseball, in other sports, or society in general. Unfortunately, it seems that there is a place for it.
For better or worse, Germán performing well would likely change the opinion of not only some fans, but also of some around the Yankees.
In a perfect world, would this be the case? No, not really. You would like to imagine that a domestic violence incident as serious as Germán’s would be a bigger factor in his role with the team than his performance. Yet, it is almost inevitable that it will be the case, should he continue to trend in this direction.
As we have previously covered, several of Germán’s teammates were outspoken about his actions, and his standing with the team. However, this is a large team. It’s hard to imagine that every player feels the same way as Zack Britton or Luke Voit, although one would hope they do.
League-wide, this is a trend that we have seen many times before. Think of Roberto Osuna, whom the Astros had no issue acquiring after his suspension for a domestic incident. Think of Germán’s teammate, Aroldis Chapman, who also had his own domestic incident while with the Reds. He, obviously, is still employed.
MLB has proven, over and over, that supreme talent can outweigh any off-field incidents, no matter how serious they may be. Is this right? No, of course not. However, it’s just an unfortunate reality of professional sports.
Ultimately, one thing is certain: If Germán continues to impress in Spring Training, it will create quite a moral conundrum for the Yankees. All eyes will most definitely continue to be on him all spring, likely just as much for his actions off the field as on it.
