Boone prefers German be the one who suggests talk with Yanks

TAMPA, Fla. — If Domingo German is to speak to the New York Yankees as a team following his return from a domestic violence suspension, manager Aaron Boone would prefer the pitcher be the one who suggests it.

German was put on administrative leave on Sept. 19, 2019, while Major League Baseball investigated an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend, with whom he has at least one child. He missed the final nine games of, the 2019 regular season and all nine of New

York’s postseason games.

He was suspended for 81 games on Jan. 2 last year, a ban that had 63 games left. He missed the entire 2020 season and playoffs.

German returned for the start of spring training this week. Asked Thursday whether German needed to speak with teammates about what happened Yankees reliever Zack Britton said: “I think it’s off-the-field stuff that he needs to take care of. I think sometimes you don’t get to control who your teammates are.“

“It’s, I guess, put a little strength in my antenna as far as something that I’m looking at more closely now,” Boone said Friday. “I’m not ready to say that Domingo needs to go and address the team. I don’t think that at this point is something that I want to make somebody do that. I think that needs to be something that comes from within and is authentic.”

“But it is something that I’m looking at and trying to pay attention to as best I can, because obviously we’re dealing with a serious issue and we’re dealing with a person’s life and livelihood and we want to be a part of helping that situation,” he said.

German was 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 2019 before his season was cut short.

“First and foremost, today he looked great in his bullpen,” Boone said. “He’s physically in really good, good condition, in shape. Look, we’re all human. Reality is, it’s been a year and a half now where, obviously he’s been through a lot in his life and has suffered from a career standpoint. So, yeah, of course, I’m going to be sensitive to how he’s responding and we’re reacting to things that aren’t just as simple as the baseball-related stuff.”