TAMPA – Only on the second day of camp, Yankees coach Aaron Boone has already been forced to deal with a potential problem at the Yankees clubhouse because of Sunday German’s return from his suspension for domestic violence.
“You cannot control who your teammates are and that is the situation. I don’t agree with what [German] did, ”Zack Britton said Thursday. “I don’t think it has a place in the game or off the field or at all.”
A day later, Boone said he is paying even more attention to the situation.
“I would say it is, I suppose, putting a little bit of force on my antenna for something that I am examining more closely,” said Boone on Friday.
Britton also defended his position on Twitter when someone questioned why he was “concerned” about the German after the 28-year-old was “punished for his mistakes and you still don’t know the circumstances of what happened”.
“Do you think I don’t know the circumstances? Get a clue, ” Britton said in response. “[I] the BTW question was asked, I gave my answer. Don’t worry if you are sensitive to this. “
German is expected to compete for fifth place in the starting rotation, after fulfilling the remainder of his 81-game suspension last season after the 2019 incident. Boone, general manager Brian Cashman and bank manager Carlos Mendoza talked to the German before the early spring training, but that didn’t make the problem go away.
Asked if he believed that Britton, a respected member of the team – who also played a significant role in the MLB Players Association – was speaking only for himself or for his teammates, Boone said: “I think [Britton] answered a direct question honestly. “
“I am sure there are thousands of shades of gray about how guys feel when serious situations arise from the field and I am sure it exists throughout our club,” said Boone. “So, like I said, it’s something that my antenna is up on and we’re going to keep trying to monitor, observe and deal with it in the best possible way.”
Boone has not yet asked German to speak to his teammates.
“I’m not ready to say that Domingo needs to go and talk to the team,” said Boone. “I don’t think, at this point, it’s something that I want anyone to do. I think it needs to be something that comes from within and is authentic. But it is something that I am watching and trying to pay attention to as best I can because, obviously, we are dealing with a serious problem. “
As for the German’s performance on the pitch at the start of spring training, Boone said he “looked great” and is “physically in very good condition and in good shape”.
Pitching coach Matt Blake added that he is “pleasantly surprised” at the way the German launched the ball after his first bullpen session on Friday.
However, this is only part of what the German has to work on this spring. Given his other previous mistakes, which mainly involved messages on social media, it is fair to imagine how German will handle the ballot.
“Look, we are all human. Do you know? “Boone said.” The reality is that it has been a year and a half since he has obviously gone through a lot in his life and suffered from a professional point of view. and reacting to things that are not as simple as baseball-related things, and I’m trying to worry about how it’s affecting him.… We’re dealing with a person’s life and livelihood and we want to help in that situation. ”