Domingo Germán’s return to baseball was certainly not without controversy.

After missing the 2019 postseason and all of 2020 due to a suspension for domestic violence, many fans didn’t want Germán to return at all. Several prominent Yankees were critical of Germán, with Zack Britton saying, “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.”

But, as it often goes in professional sports, a valuable performance on the field can compensate for many, many (too many) off-field issues. After getting roughed up in his first two starts, Germán has settled in on the mound, and become an important part of the Yankee rotation, for better or worse.

A Strong Start for Germán

In his first seven starts, Germán has recorded a 3.62 ERA (111 ERA+) across 37 & 1/3 innings. Germán allowed 7 runs in 7 innings in his first two starts, but has pitched to a 2.37 ERA since, with 30 strikeouts to 6 walks.

While Germán’s performance has been important to the Yankees, he actually hasn’t been quite as strong as his numbers suggest. His expected ERA is 4.21, well above his actual 3.62 mark. He’s also recorded a 4.23 FIP.

Now, I’m not saying that those numbers are bad, because they certainly aren’t. As a matter of fact, that’s essentially who Germán is as a pitcher. The Dominican-born righthander has a career ERA of 4.40, and he’s probably just a bit better than that.

A Mixed Bag

Germán has relied on a very mixed repertoire this season. He throws his curveball 33.6% of the time, more than any other pitch. Second is his 4-seam fastball (26.6%), third is his changeup (24.8%), and in fourth is the sinker (15.0%).

Although he uses all four pitches consistently, Germán typically attacks right-handed hitters with his curveball and sinker, relying on his changeup and 4-seam to lefties.

Throughout 2021, the curveball has easily been his best pitch. Opposing hitters are batting just .119 against the curve, with only 5 hits in 42 at-bats. All five hits have been singles, as well. Germán has a whiff rate of 40.4% on the curve, and 15 of his 37 strikeouts have come on the pitch (the most of any of his pitches).

It’s also worth noting that despite his success, the fastball has not been good this year. Germán has allowed an average of .370 against the pitch, with a .915 xSLG. In addition, he’s almost allowed as many home runs as he has strikeouts with the 4-seam (5 Ks, 4 homers).

This is a stark change from 2019, when batters hit .243 against the fastball with a .547 xSLG. Germán’s 4-seamer has a run value of 4 this year, a huge increase from a -1 figure in 2019 (Baseball Savant).

More Contact = More Success?

Despite the struggles with his fastball, Germán has been able to succeed this season. As a whole, batters are making much more contact against him on the mound, with a career-low strikeout rate (24.2%), and a career-low walk rate (5.4%).

As discussed earlier, Germán hasn’t been quite as good as his ERA suggests. He has allowed a barrel rate of 9.3%, a career-high. His xBA against is also a career-high mark (.247).

So, yeah, the numbers suggest that he has been a bit lucky this year. However, his expected numbers still aren’t bad by any means. At the end of the year, the Yankees would take an ERA of roughly 4.20 from Germán any time.

A Difficult Dilemma

Realistically, after what Germán did, should he be in this position right now? Probably not.

But, as we discussed earlier, on-field talent always seems to weigh heavier than anything else when it comes to professional sports. Teams want to win, and in that pursuit, they tend to forget about morals along the way.

Now, this is not exclusive to the Yankees, or even to baseball. But in this specific instance, it certainly creates a sort of moral dilemma for Yankee fans. On one hand, Germán has pitched relatively well this season, and has been important to the team. On the other hand, he probably should not be pitching for the Yankees at all right now.

The longer the season rolls on, and the more success Germán has, will create even more moral strife for fans of the Bronx Bombers.