Germán: 'I promise I am not walking away'

NEW YORK -- Less than one day after a cryptic social media post announcing that he had “left baseball,” Yankees right-hander Domingo Germán reversed course with an apology on Saturday evening, saying that it has been difficult to watch his teammates prepare for the season without him.

“To my teammates, the Yankees organization and our fans, I am very sorry for the unsettling post last night,” Germán said in an Instagram story. “This past year has been very tough for my family and myself, for which I take full responsibility. Not being with my teammates while they get ready for the season, knowing that I have let them down, has taken a toll on me and last night I let my emotions get the best of me.

“Baseball is my life and I promise I am not walking away. I am using this time to get stronger, become a better person and father, and I can only hope that I will get to join my teammates once again to make them proud. Thank you to everyone, especially the Yankees organization, for their support. Please forgive me for this mistake.”

Germán, who turns 28 in August, is ineligible to pitch during the upcoming 60-game regular season.

He accepted an 81-game unpaid suspension in January following a lengthy investigation under the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy. The hurler missed the final nine games of the 2019 regular season and nine postseason contests while on administrative leave, which were counted toward his 81 games. MLB has confirmed that Germán could be active for the 2020 postseason, since he already missed the ’19 postseason.

The hurler agreed not to appeal the suspension, which ranks among the most substantial levied by the Office of the Commissioner since the league’s Domestic Violence Policy was instituted in 2015. The Braves’ Hector Olivera (82 games in 2016), the Phillies’ Odubel Herrera (85 games in 2019) and the Padres’ Jose Torres (100 games in 2018) have received similar bans.

MLB’s investigation was prompted by Germán’s actions on Sept. 16 of last year, when he allegedly had a physical confrontation with the mother of his children. That evening, Germán and most of the Yankees’ roster had attended a black-tie gala for CC Sabathia’s PitCCh In Foundation in New York.

Germán was a key contributor to the Yankees’ 2019 campaign, posting an 18-4 record with a 4.03 ERA and 153 strikeouts over 143 innings. His .818 winning percentage led the Majors.