Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: New York Mets at New York Yankees
(New York) — Just before Wednesday night’s game, general manager Brian Cashman announced that Domingo Germán will not see the mound again this season as he voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse.
An unnamed incident involving German on Tuesday raised enough concern that a meeting was held at Yankee Stadium, attended by Cashman, shortly after the MLB trade deadline.
“He is a sweetheart of a guy,” manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday, after a Yankees 7-2 win. “So when you see something that has now affected his livelihood and his life and you know how serious it is, it is very sad for someone that’s very talented”.
Boone went on to say that Germán’s alcohol problem “in some way goes back years…all of us can have someone in our life that we can relate to that it’s always an ongoing battle”.
“We want the best for the person going through a difficult time,’’ Boone explained. “You just hope and pray that he gets the right kind of help that truly gets him going in the right direction for the rest of his life.’’
The Yankees manager did not speak Wednesday with German, insinuating there was nothing in the pitchers recent behavior that suggested something might be going on.
“In a lot of ways, he’s been a good citizen…to where that hasn’t come into play, affecting his job,’’ Boone said of German since his previous suspension for Domestic Violence Abuse.
Yankees players were questioned by reporters about the situation as well.
“It just affects you as a human being,” said Gerrit Cole. “You care about your teammates and your teammates families. (It’s) a sad situation and you just hope for the best for Domingo.”
Giancarlo Stanton said it was “just a tough situation,’’ but that he “kind of understood’’ why German was submitted to treatment. “You’re aware of (what occurred Tuesday). You’re not going to get any details from me,’’ said Stanton, who swatted a two-run homer in the Yankees win.
Germán finishes his season with a 5-7 record and a 4.56 ERA over 108.2 innings pitched. The next step for the 30-year-old is much bigger than baseball, however.
