Yankees’ German retracts post on Instagram, not leaving team

New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German retracted his cryptic Instagram post from Friday and said he plans to return to the team. The 27-year-old right-hander, who initially wrote he “left baseball,” has 63 games left to serve on a domestic violence suspension. He went 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 2019.

In other Yankees news, three-time All-Star second baseman D.J. LeMahieu isn’t sure if he’ll be ready for Thursday’s opener after missing much of camp with COVID-19, and third baseman Gio Urshela’s status is unclear after he injured his left leg Saturday.

■ Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (right forearm strain) was placed on the 45-day injured list. The 34-year-old two-time All-Star will try to avoid surgery through rehabilitation, manager Ron Gardenhire said. Zimmermann is entering the final season of a five-year, $110 million deal.

■ Four-time All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman returned after overcoming COVID-19 but said he’s not sure if he’ll be set for opening day. The 30-year-old said he had a 104.5-degree temperature early in the virus fight and prayed for his life.

■ Manager Ron Roenicke picked right-hander Nathan Eovaldi to start on opening day and said left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is improving after testing positive for COVID-19 but won’t be ready for the first rotation turn.

■ All-Star left-hander John Means has arm fatigue and won’t make his scheduled Sunday start, and manager Brandon Hyde said it’s too early to tell whether the issue will impact the 27-year-old’s opening-day status.

■ Reliever Trey Wingenter underwent Tommy John surgery Friday and will miss the season. The 26-year-old righthander has 99 strikeouts in 70 innings over two major league seasons.

■ Rick Reed, a major league umpire from 1979 to 2009 who worked seven postseason series and was a 10-year crew chief, died Thursday of undisclosed causes. He was 70.

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