NEW YORK (AP) New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán has voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, the team announced Wednesday.
Germán, who threw a perfect game at Oakland in late June, was placed on the restricted list two days before his 31st birthday.
“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.”
New York general manager Brian Cashman said Germán will not pitch again this season.
“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.
Germán is 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 19 starts and one relief appearance this season. He was scratched from his scheduled start Monday night against Tampa Bay, with the Yankees saying it was because of armpit discomfort. The right-hander then entered in relief and tossed five scoreless innings of two-hit ball.
Since arriving in the majors six years ago, Germán has had trouble on and off the field. He served a 10-game suspension in May after getting ejected from a game in Toronto for using an illegal sticky substance on the mound. He was also banned 81 games by Major League Baseball earlier in his career over an alleged domestic violence incident.
“I’m just worried right now for the person and the immediate family,” Cashman said. “Domingo Germán 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.”
Germán has been brilliant at times for New York, including June 28 in an 11-0 victory over the Athletics when he pitched the 24th perfect game in big league history - and first since 2012.
He joined Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998) and David Cone (1999) as Yankees to pitch perfect games. Larsen’s gem came in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Germán became the first pitcher from the Dominican Republic to throw a perfect game. He called it a tribute to his uncle, who died two days earlier, leaving Germán crying in the clubhouse.
Germán went 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 2019 with the Yankees but was put on administrative leave late that season while MLB investigated an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend.
He missed the entire pandemic-shortened 2020 season and playoffs while serving an 81-game suspension, then met face-to-face with Yankees teammates and made a public apology at spring training when he returned to the club in February 2021.
It’s the second time in eight years that a Yankees starting pitcher has entered treatment for alcohol abuse during the season. CC Sabathia left the team in October 2015 to check into a rehab center just before New York’s playoff loss to Houston in the AL wild-card game.
“It just affects you as a human being,” ace Gerrit Cole said after New York’s 7-2 win over Tampa Bay. “You care about your teammates. You care about your teammates’ families. So it’s a sad situation and you want the best for Domingo.”
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