German gamble is complex
If this was solely about baseball, it would be easy.
The Pirates need starting pitching. Domingo German, who tossed the 24th perfect game in MLB history on June 28, 2023, could eventually help in that regard. But adding the former Yankee on a minor-league deal can’t possibly be just about baseball.
It’s a more complicated and nuanced proposition considering German’s pockmarked past, which includes an 81-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy in September 2019 and issues with alcohol that led the Yankees to cut ties with the 31-year-old late last season.
Fewer than eight months since German’s most recent alcohol-fueled incident — when he was reportedly drunk and belligerent inside the Yankees clubhouse, flipping a couch, smashing a TV and arguing with manager Aaron Boone — the Pirates are affording German another chance.
Are they wrong? Honestly, I don’t know.
It’s also an unfortunate commentary on our society that we habitually feel a need to have an opinion in one extreme direction or another. The truth here is that it’s OK to feel icky about it all ... while simultaneously seeing it make some baseball sense and hoping that anyone with a legitimate problem receives the help they need.
What I do know is this wasn’t a recent thing for the Pirates. They had been doing background work on German for at least the past two months and likely more based on general manager Ben Cherington’s explanation of the move on Saturday morning at LECOM Park.
The short version of what Cherington said involves the Pirates, since October or November, following German’s story and trying to learn more. They increased that quest for knowledge as German potentially joining the team felt more realistic. That included meetings with German and his wife, Mara, as well as various team, player and industry sources.
“We spent a lot of time at it with a lot of people involved,” Cherington said. “Ultimately, we got to a point where we were comfortable making an offer.”
Much of the Pirates’ comfort stemmed from German voluntarily entering an inpatient treatment program this offseason and completing all the necessary steps. Cherington also said the Pirates are finalizing plans leveraging some of their Latin American resources to craft additional support for German.
Before ultimately deciding to make an offer, Cherington added that he and others within baseball operations took the temperature of current veterans on the team, realizing this magnitude of decision will impact them, as well.
“Very confident we’ve got people who can form a good support structure,” Cherington said. “Certainly, teammates are going to be part of that, and that was really the gist of the conversation we had with players.
“If he was going to be here, they’ve got a role in this. They seem willing and eager to do that.”
It was encouraging to hear the depth of the Pirates’ digging on German, the Spanish-speaking support and temperature taken of teammates. They’ll need all of it. But as everyone knows when it comes to substanceabuse issues, things don’t always go according to plan.
Critics of the Pirates signing German certainly have some valid points, whether that’s centered around the ugly details of what happened, how small the sample of sobriety still is or skepticism that the Pirates are only after German because he’s a bargain.
It’s hard to argue there, honestly. The details are gruesome. I’m also fearful that it hasn’t been long enough to feel the way I’d like to feel about the chances of German staying sober.
There are so many thoughts and emotions to work through on this ... and I’m pretty sure I completed some sort of mental decathlon while spending Saturday’s wee hours awake, experiencing all of them. (Again, it’s OK to just feel generally weird about this entire thing.)
One input that’s been resonating with me involves how little the Pirates are promising here. Think about it. German will get $1.25 million, plus incentives for 2024. There’s a team option worth $2.25 million (and more incentives) next season. He’s promised neither a spot on the roster nor a place in the Pirates starting rotation.
German will have to earn both with good behavior both on and off the field. The only thing the Pirates have chosen to do — presumably based on what they have learned — is to support his pursuit of a better, cleaner life.
If German endures even the tiniest slip-up, that should be it. There’s no margin for error. From perception of the organization to the competency of Cherington, manager Derek Shelton, players and so many others, there’s plenty riding on German keeping his nose clean.
The Pirates should have had plenty of places to go to get intel on German, whether that’s Andrew McCutchen, Aroldis Chapman or Billy McKinney (a former Yankee who came up through the minors with German), not to mention Neil Walker, who also played with German.
What I’ve heard about German is he’s generally been a respected teammate, albeit a quiet one, but also someone with a legitimate problem.
And that might be what ultimately settled it for me. It’s certainly not condoning what German did. But whether we’re talking about a professional baseball player, a plumber or an accountant, those fighting demons require support and grace. The Pirates have extended both. More than how German pitches, the victory for the team and the player will be if they can both turn an awkward, confusing moment into a story that it’s never too late to get help or change things for the better.