Domingo Germán submits to inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse

NEW YORK -- Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán will miss the remainder of the season after agreeing to submit to inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, general manager Brian Cashman said on Wednesday.

The club announced that Germán will be placed on the restricted list for the time that he is away from the club.

“It is critical that Domingo completely focuses on addressing his health and well-being,” the club said in a statement. “We will respect his privacy as he begins this process.”

Cashman addressed the team before Wednesday night’s game against Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium. The general manager said that alcohol abuse is something Germán has dealt with in the past, and that the club became aware of an issue involving Germán before Tuesday’s game against the Rays.

“I’m not going to go through the details of it,” Cashman said. “Certainly, it’s a very serious issue that affects way too many people, unfortunately. 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 have to address head on.”

Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole said that the pregame meeting was emotional.

"It just affects you as a human being," Cole said. "You care about your teammates and you care about your teammates' families. It's a sad situation. You want the best for Domingo."

Cashman said that the incident that prompted Germán’s treatment for alcohol abuse was not related to what transpired on Monday, when Germán was scratched from a scheduled start against the Rays due to discomfort near his right armpit. Germán entered that game in relief, tossing five scoreless innings in a 5-1 loss.

“That’s a completely separate issue,” Cashman said. “Everything that was addressed has nothing to do with what we’re dealing with today, and was 100 percent accurate as conveyed by [manager Aaron] Boone. It had nothing to do with it.”

Germán, a 30-year-old right-hander who pitched the 24th perfect game in Major League history on June 28 against the Oakland A’s, has had a checkered big league career.

Germán accepted an unpaid 81-game suspension for his actions on the evening of Sept. 16, 2019, during which he violated Major League Baseball’s policy against domestic violence. The suspension included mandatory counseling and spanned 18 games during the 2019 regular season and postseason, carrying through the entire pandemic-shortened 2020 regular season.

"In some way, this goes back years," Boone said. "I think all of us probably have someone in our life that we can relate to that it's always an ongoing battle."

During the summer of 2020, Germán briefly announced his retirement, later explaining that he was frustrated by not being able to resume play. This past May, Germán was suspended 10 games for violating MLB’s policy on grip-enhancing substances.

Germán was 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) this season.

"My takeaway of all of it is, it's just sad," Boone said. "I 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."

Cashman declined to say if he expects Germán to pitch for the Yankees in the future.

“I think our focus right now is giving our thoughts and prayers to his family as he takes these very necessary important steps to address his alcoholism," Cashman said.