Yanks' Germán placed on administrative leave

NEW YORK -- Yankees right-hander Domingo Germán has been placed on administrative leave under the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced Thursday.

Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations is looking into the matter, and MLB said it will have no further comment until the investigation is complete. The initial period of administrative leave may last up to seven days, barring an extension.

The details of the alleged incident were not publicly announced. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he learned of Germán’s status on Thursday, adding that he and general manager Brian Cashman planned to address the team prior to their game against the Angels.

“I heard some of the whispers and whatnot, but this is a Major League Baseball investigation and issue, so we’re just trying to be as cooperative as we can,” Boone said.

Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said he had “nothing to add” to a statement released by the club, which read:

“We fully support all measures being undertaken by the Commissioner’s Office pursuant to the Policy on Domestic Violence. We support this policy which reinforces that domestic violence has no place in our society and cannot be tolerated.

“We have followed the lead of Major League Baseball and will continue to provide our complete cooperation throughout the investigative process. We reserve any further comment until the investigation reaches its conclusion. All questions pertaining to this matter should be directed to the Office of the Commissioner.”

The 27-year-old Germán has been a key contributor to the Yankees’ season, posting an 18-4 record with a 4.03 ERA and 153 strikeouts over 143 innings. Boone said that given MLB’s investigation, the Yankees will plan as though German will be unavailable for the postseason.

“There’s no denying the importance of Domingo to our team, so there is that element of we must continue on and continue to press forward,” Boone said. “But this is something that touches our society, unfortunately. Hopefully that’s a forum for players to talk through it or have comments or questions. There’s no script you go off for this, so you just as best you can deal with it, handle it and offer the right kind of support.”

Though he has been utilized as a starter for most of the year, the Yankees had been pondering using German in a tandem relief role. His most recent appearance came in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Angels, when he threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of CC Sabathia.

“Set baseball aside; this is a bigger issue,” Boone said. “When you hear the words ‘domestic violence,’ it’s one of those things that stops you in your tracks. I give Major League Baseball and the Players Association credit for doing their part in, several years ago, trying to be ahead of this and putting disciplinary action in place.”