Posted on June 9, 2019, by Bryan Zarpentine
Even as a few key players slowly returning from injury, the New York Yankees can’t seem to escape the parade of injuries that have plagued them all season. On Sunday, pitcher Domingo German was placed on the 10-day Injured List due to a hip flexor. German has become a surprising contributor to the Yankees this season and is currently tied for the major league lead in wins.
German’s trip to the IL comes on the heels of a few bad outings. Over his last three starts, he’s allowed 14 earned runs in 14.2 innings of work. Needless to say, German was winless in those three starts after a run of wins in six consecutive starts. He says his hip problem popped up a couple of weeks ago and got worse on Friday when he allowed four runs over six innings against the Indians.
“It’s the kind of injury that as you progress through the game, it gets worse,” German said through an interpreter. “The beginning, not so much, but toward the later innings it adds on and it starts taking away strength from you from executing the pitches and commanding the pitches. I’ve been able to manage it in between starts. It’s just that after the outing [Friday], it was hurting more than usual.”
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Prior to his three most recent outings, German had an ERA of 2.60. That number has jumped to 3.86 after Friday’s outing. Of course, dealing with an injury could explain why German has struggled in his last three starts. After winning eight of his first nine starts, it’s vital for the Yankees to get German healthy so he can regain the form he had early in the year.
“We’re hoping that when we get back to New York and do some tests that it is something that’s minor and doesn’t hold him back for long,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
With German now out for at least 10 days, the Yankees will continue to be short-handed in their rotation. Both James Paxton and CC Sabathia have spent time on the IL during the early part of the season. The Yankees are still waiting for Luis Severino to return for the second half of the season. To make matters worse, the team was forced to use their bullpen for Sunday’s game with Masahiro Tanaka on paternity leave. They could end up doing that again when German’s next turn comes up.
At the moment, there’s optimism that German won’t miss too much time. However, it could be too soon to tell. If the injury lingers and prevents German from regaining the form he had throughout April and early May. His absence could also force the Yankees to bring up Chance Adams or another of their minor leaguers to help fill the void in their rotation.
Given how tight the AL East race has been this year, the lack of depth in New York’s rotation is a concern. German’s performance to this point in the season has been critical to the team’s success. Getting him back healthy and on track is a virtual necessity with the way their season has unfolded. Losing him to the IL isn’t a reason to panic, but the Yankees should be concerned about their best starter this season being hurt.