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- New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German was suspended for the entire 2020 season due to a domestic violence incident.
- German was reinstated and will rejoin the team’s pitching rotation in 2021.
- First baseman Luke Voit said he believes German deserves a second chance.
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New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit said his teammate, pitcher Domingo German, deserves a second chance in his return from suspension this year.
MLB reinstated German in October after serving an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. German was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 19, 2019, while MLB investigated an incident involving his girlfriend, with whom he has at least one child.
The allegations stem from an incident in September of 2019 at a charity gala held by former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia. According to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, German was accused of slapping his girlfriend at the event and becoming physically violent toward her until she hid in a locker room. The incident was reported to MLB by a Yankees staff member the next day.
German publicly apologized for the incident during a press conference on Wednesday, as the team prepares for the upcoming season at spring training in Tampa Bay, Florida.
“I have made mistakes of which I am not proud of, and for that, I want to apologize,” German said.
—Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 24, 2021
Voit came to German's defense later in the press conference but did not defend German's actions and claimed that the pitcher still has steps to take to earn back his teammates' respect.
"I believe in second chances, and the guy deserves a second chance," Voit said. "He messed up in life. I don't condone any of the things he did. He's getting a second chance at this, but he's skating on thin ice and needs to get his life together. I think he's taking the right steps to do so, but again, you know he's got to prove to us that he can do that."
—Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) February 24, 2021
German reportedly apologized to his teammates in a private setting on Tuesday, according to NJ.com, but not all of his teammates have been as outspoken about forgiving him as Voit has.
Relief pitcher Zach Britton made some harsher condemnations of German's actions with less sentiment for second chances.
"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," Britton said of German during a press conference last Thursday, according to NJ.com. "He 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."
German's presence in the clubhouse will surely be a highly analyzed subject during the Yankees' 2021 season. German is projected to be in the team's starting pitching rotation as a fifth or sixth starter.