Yankees’ Zack Britton takes lowkey shot at Domingo German

New York Yankees, Zack BRitton
Jul 28, 2018; New York City, NY, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Zach Britton (53) pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning during game two of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees are proceeding with starting pitcher Domingo German on their roster, and some players might not feel he deserves a second chance based on his previous actions.

As we know, German served a lengthy suspension for a domestic abuse case that was witnessed by an MLB employee. Justifiably, he missed the entire 2020 season and almost half of the 2019 season. After taking more than a year off, the Yankees feel German is ready to return to the team, despite making cryptic messages over the past several months indicating he’s retiring from baseball and then re-emergence.

Players already on the team will have to deal with the decision from management, and maybe they should have considered his teammate’s opinions before welcoming him back.

Relief pitcher Zack Britton surely had words on German’s return and how he feels about the situation:

“That’s tough question,” Britton said in a Zoom interview. “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.”

“My job is to go out there and pitch and do my job,” Britton said. “So that’s kind of what my concern is right there. But (German) doesn’t owe me anything. I think that’s something that he’s going to have to deal with on his own and make better choices going forward.”

The Yankees feel as though German has done enough, so it seems:

Based on the fact that the Yankees have welcome German back, it is safe to assume he’s done the work off the field to prove he has learned his lesson. Nonetheless, a strange Instagram post stating in Spanish, “everything is over,” brought the attention of skipper Aaron Boone into the fold.

“He and I had a conversation (Thursday) about that,” Boone said. “I don’t feel like I’m in a position to tell somebody how they’re express themselves or whatever (but) certainly we’re paying attention to that stuff.

“First and foremost, we want to make sure that Domingo’s in a good place. When I first heard about (the Instagram messages on Wednesday) night and saw it — it was brought to my attention — I was taken aback a little bit and immediately concerned. But I do feel like maybe it was a little bit out of context and a little bit overblown and I am comfortable that he’s doing fine and doing well and ready to compete.”

Whether or not the players agree with the return of German, he will likely find himself competing for a starting spot in the rotation. There’s a good chance he makes his way into the fifth spot, but his polarizing emotions during his time have brought forth some concerns. This is a situation we will need to monitor as spring training progresses.