Yankees place righty Domingo German on 60-day IL with shoulder injury

The Yankees have placed righty Domingo German on the 60-day injured list, the team announced.  The placement creates a 40-man roster spot for Anthony Rizzo, whose new deal with the club is now official.

New York manager Aaron Boone told reporters earlier this week that German was only just beginning his throwing program after shoulder problems hampered him in January, via Brendan Kuty of NJ.com.  If German is essentially starting from scratch, the 60-day IL placement will allow him time to get fully ramped up through extended spring training, and he’ll be available for the Yankees by May.

German’s absence removes another arm from a Yankees’ rotation mix that arguably could’ve used some more reinforcement even if he had been healthy.  Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Severino, Jameson Taillon and Nestor Cortes give the Yankees a starting five, even if plenty of health questions surround Severino and Taillon. (But Boone also said that Taillon’s October ankle surgery won’t keep him out of the Opening Day roster.)  Michael King, Luis Gil, Deivi Garcia or Clarke Schmidt form the first line of starter depth at Triple-A or in the bullpen, but none of that group has a proven MLB track record.

The same could also be said of German, as home run issues have been a big factor in his 4.54 ERA over 341 1/3 career innings in the majors.  German also missed the 2020 season while suspended under the league’s domestic violence policy, and shoulder inflammation limited him to 98 1/3 frames in 2021.  More shoulder problems can’t be seen as good news for German now, but there hasn't been any indication that he could be facing a structural issue yet.