Yankees should’ve planned to kick Domingo German out of rotation

The Yankees should’ve added enough rotation depth to make sure Domingo German wasn’t important. Alas.

The New York Yankees objectively need rotation help in 2021, somehow seeing their stable of arms get far bleaker after the addition of Gerrit Cole, which is not how that’s supposed to work.

However, the biggest travesty involved in the Yankees’ roster construction isn’t that they could use a veteran arm or two to ensure success until Luis Severino’s return. That seems to be the case every season in perpetuity.

No, the bigger problem here is that the Yankees didn’t plan ahead and render righty Domingo German non-essential by filling the rotation prior to his reemergence. Now, what seemed like an open-and-shut case (German is cut due to his public behavior, there is much rejoicing) is now completely unsettled.

And not only could German end up being a part of this rotation in 2021, but he could end up penciled in as the No. 3 starter. Oh. Great.

https://twitter.com/Yankeelibrarian/status/1328515447059324929?s=20

German’s reported display that resulted in an 81-game suspension under the league’s domestic violence policy just before the 2019 playoffs threw every Yankees plan from the previous five months into disarray.

If the reports of his behavior are true (and we have no indication they weren’t 100% accurate), then the correct decision was made, and every time the Yankees were one arm short was entirely justified. After all, they were burned by misplaced trust.

However, a year and a half has gone by since that moment. The Yankees obtained a rotation topper in Cole, are prepared to let Masahiro Tanaka walk from the rotation’s midsection, and saw their No. 2 starter Severino go down with a season-long injury that was both unpredictable and entirely predictable. They’ve had many months to render a German decision entirely unnecessary.

They have failed to do anything of the sort.

The fleshy middle of the rotation is now completely exposed, as German builds up his arm for a comeback that now seems assured in the Dominican Winter League.

The Yankees should’ve reinforced their arm supply so that they could shrug off a German non-tender. Not only did they not accomplish that mission, but their inactivity has rendered him essential, and will likely result in fans rooting for the comeback of someone who’s done nothing to prove himself redeemable.

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