New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán is an interesting case. His tenure in the Bronx has been complicated, to say the least. With Spring Training 2021 officially underway, it seems that Germán has already stolen some of the focus away from the Yankees, and not in a good way.
So where do they go from here?
How Did We Get Here?
In 2019, Germán was having a relatively strong season, or so it seemed. Despite faltering in the second half of the year, he finished the campaign with a 4.03 ERA and a 111 ERA+. However, his season was cut short after he was placed on administrative leave, following a reported incident of domestic violence. This occurred in late September, and he missed the final days of the regular season, as well as the entire postseason.
Eventually, Germán was handed an 81-game suspension, which was the 4th-longest ever handed out for domestic violence. As a result, he missed the entire 2020 campaign.
The exact circumstances of the incident are still unclear, and have never been publicly confirmed. However, it was obviously severe enough to warrant a major suspension (half of a full 162-game season).
Whenever an incident such as this one occurs, it will obviously warrant reactions from fans, players around the league, and of course, teammates. One of Germán’s teammates in particular has recently been vocal about his thoughts.
No Holding Back
During a Zoom press conference on Thursday, Zack Britton was posed a question about Germán. He did not exactly mince words in his response:
“That’s tough question. I don’t think he owes anything to me. 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.”- (via NJ.com)
This is basically as hard of a rebuke of Germán’s actions as there has been when it comes to a teammate discussing a domestic violence issue. Remember, when the Astros acquired Roberto Osuna (who was also suspended for a domestic incident), Justin Verlander said that, “the details have not come to light. We don’t know the whole story.”
Clearly the details were serious enough to warrant a 75-game suspension. This is also the same Verlander who had previously taken a harsh stance against domestic violence.
Britton taking a harsh stance against situations such as these (when it comes to a teammate) has not exactly been a common trend amongst major league players.
However, he didn’t stop there. The ace reliever also took to Twitter, with a harsh response to a critical fan:
This is a very interesting development, because it also suggests that Britton does know the exact situation involving Germán, something that has yet to be confirmed to the public.
If Britton is aware of exactly what occurred, and didn’t hesitate to say what he said, then it seems that the sitation was indeed very serious.
Boone’s Response
Naturally, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked about Britton’s comments on Friday. Here’s what he had to say:
“I would say it’s, I guess, put a little strength in my antenna as far as something that I’m looking at more closely. I think Britton answered a direct question honestly. I’m sure there’s a thousand shades of gray about how guys feel when serious situations come up away from the field, and I’m sure that it exists throughout our clubhouse. So like I said, it’s something that my antenna is up on and we’ll continue to try and monitor it and watch it and handle it the best way possible.”- (via NJ.com)
Obviously, this is not nearly as stinging as Britton’s words in regards to the Dominican-born righthander. However, it seems that Germán will continue to be at least somewhat of a distraction as long as he is wearing pinstripes. It’s also clear that the Yankees may have a legitimate issue on their hands.
German’s Future?
So, what does this mean for Germán’s future in the Bronx? It’s complicated.
Many people point to his 2019 season as a reason why he should be kept around the team, especially with the high-risk, high-reward potential of the starting rotation. However, that season was not nearly as impressive as it may have looked.
A 4.03 ERA, while solid, was helped significantly by the Yankees’ defense. Germán recorded a 4.72 FIP (fielding-independent pitching) during the 2019 campaign. This suggests that Germán, quite frankly, got lucky at points throughout the year.
Through his first 10 starts of 2019, Germán recorded a 2.60 ERA. However, in his final 17 starts, that number rose by over two full runs. From the end of May until his suspension, Germán posted a 4.93 ERA.
Additionally, his underlying numbers from the 2019 season aren’t exactly impressive, to say the least. Germán recorded an average exit velocity of 89.4 mph (ranking in the bottom 28% of all pitchers), a hard-hit rate of 40.1% (bottom 20%), a barrel rate of 8.8% (bottom 18%), and an expected slugging percentage of .455 (bottom 31%). (Numbers from Baseball Savant)
To put it simply, Germán’s 2019 season was not nearly as good as his ERA suggests. Even then, his ERA wasn’t exactly ace-level to begin with.
In 243 career innings, Germán has a 4.52 ERA. Without those 10 starts at the beginning of 2019, that number balloons to 5.08. Essentially, since his debut in 2017, Germán has not been good, aside from a great stretch of 10 games.
What’s the Yankees’ Next Move?
If Germán is going to continue to be a distraction, the Yankees might simply be better off without him. While pitching depth is important, having a unified locker room is almost just as important.