With the news that the MLB regular season won’t start on time, there has been some confusion about Domingo German’s suspension.
Domingo German would have been eligible to return to the Yankees on June 5, but that was based on games missed. According to Brian Cashman, German needs to sit out 63 games, and that begins whenever the schedule starts.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) March 14, 2020
Had the season started on March 26, German would have been eligible to return on June 5 because he still needs to serve 63-games of the 81-game suspension that he accepted last fall for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. For whatever reason, some people assumed German would still be able to return on June 5 regardless of when the season started. That is not true.
Brian Cashman clarified:
“He has a suspension in the amount of games. It doesn’t start until the schedule starts. The suspension is in games, so the bottom line is, until those games come off the board, that’s how long his suspension is going to last.”
If in a worst case scenario the 2020 MLB season is completely canceled, German would still need to serve those 63 games in 2021. Heck, he could take the next ten years off from baseball and, if in 2030 he decides to return, would still need to serve 63 games.
Whenever German does return, he will compete with guys like Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga, Michael King, and others for a spot in the rotation.
If you’re looking for a silver lining in all of this, the Yankees could have a pretty fresh rotation come the end of the season (assuming baseball doesn’t tack-on games missed in October and into November).
