New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German isn't expected to pitch again this season after agreeing to voluntarily submit to inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, the club announced on Wednesday.
German will be placed on the restricted list while he is away from the team.
"It is critical that Domingo completely focuses on addressing his health and well-being," the Yankees said in a statement. "We will respect his privacy as he begins this process."
Speaking to reporters, general manager Brian Cashman called German's situation "very serious," saying he doesn't expect to see the right-hander pitch again in the 2023 season. Cashman said German has dealt with alcohol issues in the past and that an "incident" occurred on Tuesday, declining to go into further detail.
“Certainly it’s a very serious issue that affects way too many people, unfortunately, and hopefully the steps that are being taken today will really benefit him for the remaining part of his life because it’s a very serious problem that you need to address head on and these treatment places are significant steps hopefully to helping him get the tools to solve it,” Cashman said, via AP.
“I’m just worried right now for the person and the immediate family,” Cashman added. “Domingo German has certainly been a part of the Yankee family and he’s dealing with a very serious issue and I certainly think we’re all going to keep him in our prayers as he takes very important but necessary steps in trying to deal with this problem.”
German, who turns 31 on Friday, sports a 4.56 ERA over 19 starts and one relief appearance this season. He's a little more than a month removed from recording the 24th perfect game in MLB history in a June 28 outing against the Oakland A's at Oakland Coliseum.
German was suspended 10 games by MLB earlier this season after being ejected from a game for using an illegal sticky substance. He was also suspended 81 games in 2020 over an alleged domestic violence incident.
German has been with the Yankees organization since 2015, making 112 total MLB appearances since his debut in 2017.
