German dazzles again
Domingo German pitched four shutout innings, allowing three hits, striking out six and walking one in a 4-2 victory over Philadelphia as his quest to grab a spot in the Yankee rotation continues.
“Seemed like he was a little inconsistent maybe with the breaking ball a little bit early, but really dialed that in and got nasty with that. Again, the changeup was a great pitch for him,” Aaron Boone said. “Fastball was there. Good movement, good velocity. He looked really polished.”
In his return from a domestic violence suspension that started in September 2019, German has pitched nine scoreless innings, allowing five hits, striking out 13 and walking one. He is competing with Deivi Garcia to be the fifth starter in a rotation with Gerrit Cole, Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon and Jordan Montgomery.
German was 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA before the suspension in 2019.
“The decision for April 1 isn’t the final decision,” Boone said. “I go back to a couple years ago when DJ LeMahieu wasn’t in the starting lineup on opening day. I knew he was going to play pretty much every day, but it’s like somebody’s got to sit on opening day and that’s the story, but it’s a long season. And I just feel really good about where all our starters or — slash guys who give us length — I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot with them right now, and we’re going to need them all.”
The Giants failed to sign Leonard Williams to a long-term deal on Monday. They lost a core player in Dalvin Tomlinson to the Minnesota Vikings on a minimal free agent deal.
And they reportedly lost a bidding war for the Rams’ Leonard Floyd, who stayed in Los Angeles on huge extension.
The Giants did sign Raiders running back Devontae Booker to a two-year deal worth up to $6 million, according to a source, to back up Saquon Barkley.
They re-signed defensive tackle Austin Johnson to a one-year deal, a source confirmed, that is worth $3 million guaranteed plus $500,000 more in incentives, per The Athletic.
Most importantly, the Giants are still a contender to sign Lions receiver Kenny Golladay, the only true No. 1 receiver on the wideout free agent market.
But the Giants’ first day of negotiations was underwhelming, while recent cap casualty Kevin Zeitler inked a contract to join a playoff team in the Baltimore
Ravens.
Former Giants undrafted free agent pass rusher Romeo Okwara, cut by the Giants in 2018, also cashed in as a productive Lions starter in Detroit.
The departure of Tomlinson, 27, was especially damning for the Giants and reminiscent of 2010 second-round defensive tackle Linval Joseph leaving for the Vikings after his rookie contract in 2014, as well.
Tomlinson is a core player who, like Joseph, was drafted in the second round by former GM Jerry Reese. It was expected that
he might price himself out of New York, in which case the Giants could live with a player they valued to typically pricey free agent spending.
But Tomlinson’s reported contract with Minnesota is for just two years and $22 million with $16 fully guaranteed. The Giants’ losing Tomlinson with that as the competition is inexcusable and a reflection of how they have managed their roster to this point.
Williams at the moment is eating up $19.35 million of their salary cap on the franchise tag. The Giants have little leverage but need to get him signed longterm soon to lower his 2021 cap hit. That will free up cap space to spend elsewhere.
The Giants have to be under the $182.5 million NFL cap before 4 p.m. Wednesday. So that is the realistic deadline they need to get Williams locked up long-term.
The Giants entered Monday with just $2.4 million in cap space, per overthecap.com. And although they can restructure contracts on their roster to free more space, locking up Williams would help them drop his 2021 hit into single digits using bonus money and extra years.
Booker, 28, is the product of the Giants prioritizing running back depth among their many needs this free agency period.
They need a reliable backup running the ball with Saquon Barkley recovering from ACL surgery. And they needed a backup who could catch the ball, pass protect and play special teams. Booker does all three (he even returns kicks).
Booker and Giants QB Daniel Jones each had a league-high four rushes of 20-plus yards in 2020 on an identical 49 carries. Booker, a 2016 Broncos fourth-round pick out of Utah, backed up Josh Jacobs in Las Vegas last season.
Booker’s two-year deal with the Giants contains a $2 million signing bonus, according to a source, and salaries of $1.5 million in 2021 and $2 million in 2022.
He has $250,000 incentives each season tied to rush yards, as well: 400 in 2021 and 2022. He’ll carry a $2.5-2.75 million cap hit in 2021 and a $3-$3.25 million cap hit in 2022.
On the defensive line, meanwhile, the Giants also brought back Johnson, 26, on a contract that is double the $1.5 million he made with the Giants in 2020 after signing as a Titans free agent.
Johnson played 21% of the Giants’ defensive snaps last season, including in short yardage and obvious run downs. But he logged 20 or more snaps three times in the Giants’ final four games. So with Tomlinson gone, Johnson’s new contract appears to reflect an increased role.
Johnson, originally from Galloway, N.J., played for Giants defensive line coach Sean Spencer at Penn State before the Titans drafted him in the 2016 second round.