New York Yankees Pitcher Says He Could Face 50-Game Ban

The New York Yankees have had their share of problems in the pitching rotation in 2023. Their prized offseason acquisition, Carlos Rodon, has yet to throw a pitch, Luis Severino only recently made his season debut, Frankie Montas was shut down in spring training for shoulder surgery, and Domingo German just served a 10-day suspension for violating the 'foreign substance' rule.

Now, MLB Insider Jon Heyman reports that German was told that his next 'sticky stuff' suspension will be for 50 games. 

According to baseball's rules on enforcing the foreign substance ban, however, there isn't actually a set number of games for a second violation. It's possible that someone on the Yankees told him that to scare the bejeezus out of him and prevent him from doing something stupid again. 

German was ejected after three hitless innings in a May 16 start in Toronto. The umpire said he had “the stickiest [hand] I’ve ever felt."

Yankees starter Domingo Germán has been ejected for having an illegal substance pic.twitter.com/hq9aIPo5DX

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 17, 2023

The 30-year-old is in his 6th season with the Yankees, and has had a pretty decent year thus far, with a 3.98 ERA over 10 starts, a 0.97 WHIP and a 53:18 K/BB ratio, while holding the opposition to a stingy .179 batting average. 

German returned to the rotation this week after serving his 10-game ban. 

Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports