Domingo German

The Yankees have placed right-hander Domingo German on the 10-day injured list due to a left hip flexor strain.  The placement is retroactive to June 8.  Southpaw Stephen Tarpley has been called up from Triple-A in the corresponding 25-man roster move.

One of many unheralded players who have stepped up for the injury-riddled Yankees this season, German has been a stalwart of New York’s rotation over the first two months.  The 26-year-old has a 3.86 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and 4.05 K/BB rate over 70 innings, starting 12 of his 13 appearances.  His most recent results, however, haven’t been as productive; 14 of the 30 earned runs allowed by German this season have come over his last 14 2/3 IP, which could indicate that hitters have started to get a book on German, or perhaps he has been hampered by his hip issue.

With German out, the Yankees are in need of a fifth starter to slot behind Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ, and C.C. Sabathia.  The club could try to get by with openers and bullpen games (such as today’s game, as Chad Green is scheduled to “start”), though even despite the depth and quality of New York’s relief corps, that might not be a feasible answer is German is sidelined for any length of time beyond the 10-day minimum.  Nestor Cortes Jr., called up on Saturday while Tanaka is briefly on the paternity list, has been regularly starting at Triple-A this season and might get the first crack at filling German’s place.  Chance Adams could also be recalled from the minors for starting duty.

After optioning Domingo German to Triple-A following last night’s ugly performance in the Subway Series, the Yankees are set to promote a replacement Domingo. Robert M. Pimpsner of Pinstriped Prospects reported early this morning that the club was expected to promote 6’7″ righty Domingo Acevedo to the big league club; Robert Murray of The Athletic later confirmed the news. The Yankees’ PR department has since announced the promotion.

Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked the 24-year-old Acevedo as the Bombers’ ninth-best prospect, praising his strike-throwing ability despite “a delivery that is littered with funkiness and moving parts.” His fastball sits in the mid- to high-nineties, and he also possesses a slider that some scouts believe could develop into a plus pitch. It’s said that he possesses the ceiling of a middle-of-the-rotation starter, but more interestingly is that BA claims his floor to be that of a power reliever.

Acevedo was a $7,500 international signing in 2012, and has slowly managed to work his way through the club’s minor-league ranks. Last season at Double-A, he made 14 starts while pitching to a 2.38 ERA with an excellent 4.82 K/BB. That earned him a brief 12 1/3-inning stint at the Triple-A level later in the year, though he was sent back to Double-A to begin the 2018 season. Though he hasn’t quite shown the same dominant command so far, he’s still managed to post a respectable 2.84 ERA.

German’s demotion isn’t much of a surprise considering his struggles in the majors so far this season. While the right-hander has managed to rack up an impressive amount of strikeouts (10.38 K/9), his struggles to keep the ball on the ground (37.3% ground ball rate) and in the park (1.64 HR/9) have led to a bloated 5.68 ERA. Last night, German allowed five runs (four earned) in 3 2/3 innings against a pathetic Mets offense that’s tied for the third-fewest runs scored in all of baseball.

Acevedo will become the latest right-handed pitcher to leapfrog top prospect Justus Sheffield for a big-league debut. In addition to a pair of Domingos, right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga also earned his first promotion to The Show earlier this season. Though roster implications no doubt had plenty to do with it (the aforementioned three pitchers are all on the Yankees’ 40-man), it’s fair to wonder why the pitching-needy Yankees continue to keep Sheffield at the Triple-A level despite his excellent performance there so far this year. The southpaw owns a 2.53 ERA to go with nearly a strikeout per inning and a 44% ground ball rate at Scranton-Wilkes Barre.