Cherington discusses signing Germán to Minor League deal

BRADENTON, Fla. -- The Pirates’ search for more starting pitching this offseason led them to signing right-hander Domingo Germán to a Minor League deal Friday, giving them a pitcher who has upside on the mound but past issues off the field that the young veteran has acknowledged.

Germán was placed on the Yankees’ restricted list last August following a clubhouse incident, after which he agreed to submit to inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, where Germán spent a month. The team placed him on outright waivers in November, ending his six-year tenure with the team.

In 2019, he accepted an unpaid suspension for his actions on the evening of Sept. 16, 2019, during which he violated Major League Baseball’s policy against domestic violence. The suspension included mandatory counseling and spanned the final 18 games of 2019, as well as the entirety of the abbreviated 2020 season.

"I've been growing as a person,” Germán said in reference to how he has grown since going to rehab, via coach and interpreter Stephen Morales. “Growing and moving forward. Just getting stronger and wiser when it comes to those stages of life."

This offseason, the Pirates spent time meeting with and interviewing Germán, his wife Mara, league sources and the Players Association to learn more about him. After considerable effort and internal discussion, which included veteran leaders on the team, the Pirates decided to offer Germán a Minor League deal. With it, he can earn a Major League opportunity with his actions on and off the field.

“We got to the point where we felt like we had satisfied two questions,” general manager Ben Cherington said. “One, have we understood everything more clearly that has happened, including the incident in 2019 that led to his domestic violence suspension and also more recently the incident last summer that led to his release. We felt like we were more clear on everything that had happened in the past. And also more clear on the work that he’s doing to grow and what he’s doing with his family to grow from that. … The second question became, ‘Is he deserving of a chance with the Pirates? Are we the right organization to partner with him?’

“After a lot of discussion internally and feedback from a lot of inputs inside the Pirates, ultimately I made the decision to make an offer.”

In those conversations with the Pirates, Germán was open that he has tried to grow as a person.

"As a couple, me and my wife, we grew a lot,” Germán said. “We learned from our mistakes. We're moving forward, and now that we've got a couple kids, that's our inspiration now moving forward. Just doing our best to make it work from here on and learn from our mistakes."

On the field, Germán went 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA over 20 outings with the Yankees in 2023. He pitched the 24th perfect game in Major League history on June 28 against the Athletics. In the team’s research on his background, they also got universal feedback about how competitive he was on the field.

“[He] wants to be out there in the biggest situations,” Cherington said. “From that perspective, as a pitcher, he's a talented pitcher we feel can help us on the field.”

The Pirates have some question marks at the back end of their rotation, and while Germán feels he is at about “80 percent” right now, he will not be ready to join the team in Miami for Opening Day on March 28.

Germán’s contract is for $1.25 million in 2024, prorated based on service time, with performance bonuses. The team also has a club option for 2025, which is for $2.25 million and performance bonuses.

The plan is for Germán to spend two or three weeks in camp so the team can better understand what resources they feel he needs for his recovery.

"I feel really fortunate in this organization, we've got a lot of people who have spent their lives dedicated to finding ways to help people who need help,” Cherington said. “Specifically, in this case, a lot of people who have done that with players who come from Latin American, Spanish speaking backgrounds. We're still working on the details of that.”

Germán knows continued recovery will be a group effort with himself, the team and counselors.

"Pirates people are going to help me out throughout the process,” Germán said. “And myself too, make sure that I continue to work with them to work as a team and continue to move forward."