Merely five months after he pitched the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history — and three months after entering rehab for alcohol abuse — Domingo Germán has been cut by the New York Yankees.
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According to ESPN, the Yankees made the move after Germán refused an outright assignment to the minor leagues from the Yankees following the end of the 2023 MLB season. However, Germán's season ended on Aug. 2, when he was placed on the MLB's restricted list two days before his 31st birthday — a byproduct of him entering rehab treatment for alcohol abuse.
Germán pitched the perfect game at Oakland on June 28, in a game where he struck out nine batters in 99 pitches (including 51 curveballs). With Germán's perfect game, the Yankees became the first MLB franchise with four perfect games pitched. In addition, upon Germán's historic performance, Oakland Coliseum joined the original Yankee Stadium as the only venues to host three perfect games.
The perfect game was a massive bright spot in what was an otherwise mediocre Yankees season; Germán himself went 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 19 starts in 2023. He went 31-28 with a 4.41 ERA in 89 starts and 23 relief appearances over his six seasons with the Yankees.
Unfortunately, Germán's Yankees career was plagued by off-field issues. In addition to entering rehab in August, Germán served a 10-game suspension in May after getting ejected from a game at Toronto for using a banned sticky substance on the mound. He was also suspended 81 games by the MLB in 2019 and 2020 for violating the league's domestic violence policy.
Had he remained on the Yankees' roster, Germán would have been eligible for salary arbitration — the process by which players still under team control negotiate their salary with their team. While he is clearly still talented enough to pitch in the major league, it appears to be in the best interests of both Germán and the Yankees for him to seek greener pastures with another organization.
Of course, one hopes that Germán will be able to correct his off-field issues before considering a MLB comeback. If he is able to do so, perhaps we'll see him pitching in a non-pinstripe jersey during the 2024 MLB season.
