4 emergency Gerrit Cole rotation replacements not named Snell, Cease, or Lorenzen
By Josh Wilson
Domingo German
Before we jump in on this one, it's crucial to acknowledge that this is a suboptimal selection to replace Cole.
The clubhouse concerns come first and foremost here. German is a repeat offender of putting team culture and the high standards of the pinstripes in question. A domestic violence incident at a team event was strike one and should have been the end of the road for him in New York.
Then, last year, an incident blew up where German was quite literally locked in the team's nap room with security watching him. After, he checked into a voluntary alcohol abuse inpatient facility, the implication being that German showed up to the clubhouse inebriated to the point of it being obvious. The incident appeared to rattle teammates.
German's 2023 was wildly up and down, with the above incident coming not long after he pitched a perfect game (a game after he gave up eight hits and eight earned runs in 3.1 innings). Clearly, he's a talented pitcher with loads of potential held back by very real off-field issues.
German's cloudy history with the team likely prohibits this from being a realistic option. He put a wedge in the clubhouse midseason last year and it would take a massive personality and character turnaround for players to understand why he's coming back. Other teams, like the Pirates and Angels, have looked into German, so he seems to be doing well enough to at least warrant consideration.
But, again, this is a pitcher who threw a perfect game last year.
In the end, most Yankees fans -- myself included -- would be disappointed to see the team bring German back because of the poor job he did upholding the supposedly high cultural standard in the Bronx. But if we're talking emergencies and starter-ready players, he's one of the only players available who has already donned the pinstripes and seen some level of success.
Beyond the locker room culture concerns, German's inconsistency last year was a problem as well. His perfect game being preceded by an 8-earned-run start the game before in just over three innings was an accurate representation of his season.
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