Yankees scratch Domingo German, and then he pitches anyway? Here's what happened

NEW YORK – Scratched from Monday night's start due to tightness under his right armpit, Domingo German recovered quickly enough to serve effectively as the Yankees' long reliever.

By then, the Tampa Bay Rays had done enough damage against emergency starter Jhony Brito.

Called up from the minors to sub for German at Yankee Stadium, Brito surrendered four home runs in four innings, fueling the Rays' 5-1 victory.

While the Yanks' bats remained as quiet as their front office leading up to Tuesday's 6 p.m. MLB trade deadline, there was more pitching intrigue involving the struggling Luis Severino.

The is right-hander is now questionable to take his regular rotation turn Friday night against Houston.

“Everything’s on the table. We haven’t ruled in or out anything,’’ manager Aaron Boone said of Severino’s status earlier Monday.

That would presumably include Severino being skipped a turn in the rotation or being banished to the bullpen for a time.

Plus, a trade wouldn't be entirely out of the question, though Severino - in his free agent walk year - hasn't exactly enhanced his value by his performance in 2023.

German and Clarke Schmidt are also potential trade candidates, and at this point the last place Yankees (55-51) might want to explore deals involving bullpen arms such as Clay Holmes, Michael King or Wandy Peralta.

Yankees' rotation situation

Lefty starter Nestor Cortes (rotator cuff strain) is scheduled to make his third minor league rehab start Wednesday, ahead of being activated early next week.

Cortes’ return would force someone out of the rotation, with Severino and German being the most vulnerable candidates.

German, at least, finished with five scoreless innings after the Rays had already taken a four-run lead on Brito, tagged for homers by Brandon Lowe, Wander Franco, Isaac Paredes and Josh Lowe - the last two coming back-to-back in the fourth.

The fastball command was not sharp said Brito (4-5, 5.17 ERA, 13 games, 12 starts), who was summoned from Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to New York, Sunday night.

Brito was informed Monday afternoon that he'd be starting that night against the second place Rays (65-44), opposing Tyler Glasnow, who three-hit the Yanks over seven innings and yielded a run.

Luis Severino's status with Yankees

Severino looked and sounded utterly lost Sunday night, after yielding nine runs in 3.1 innings against the first place Orioles at Camden Yards.

“Right now, I feel like I am the worst pitcher in the game,’’ said Severino after Baltimore’s 9-3 win, which sent his ERA to 7.49 after 12 starts in 2023, the right-hander’s free agent walk year.

Boone was noncommittal about Severino taking his next turn, saying that the team will “continue to discuss all options and try to get him in a good place.’’

Severino has already made adjustments with his delivery and setup. “Command and location was a problem for him (Sunday),’’ said Boone.

Also, Severino has had periods where he has tipped pitches from the mound. He insists he is completely healthy, having spent the season’s first month on the injured list due to a lat strain.

What happened with Domingo German?

Through an interpreter, German said he began to feel discomfort near the right armpit area Friday, but the condition worsened after he threw his normal bullpen session Saturday at Baltimore.

The discomfort lingered into Sunday and German canceled his prestart throwing session on flat ground and informed the team's athletic trainers.

Yet, by late Sunday, German felt improved. He was cleared to play catch after a late Monday afternoon exam by Dr. Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees' physician.

Following that throwing session, German informed the Yankees coaching staff that he felt good enough to be used in relief Monday night.

German wound up tossing 72 pitches, yielding just two htis and two walks, with four strikeouts over five innings.

But the decision was still to start Brito, because “we didn’t want to risk it and then (German) feels something in the first inning,'' Boone said earlier.

German had no previous complaint of discomfort prior to Sunday and hadn't felt anything like that in his career until this episode.

"That's why I was so worried about it,'' said German, who had an elevated 5.64 ERA in four starts since tossing a perfect game June 28 at Oakland.

"Right now, I feel good,'' said German, adding that he intends to stay on top of the situation, so it doesn't become a chronic issue.

To make room for Brito's arrival, the Yankees optioned reliever Ron Marinaccio to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, for what is expected to be a brief stay.

Marinaccio had been shaky of late, before tossing 2.2 scoreless innings Sunday in relief of Severino.

That workload also probably took the Toms River right-hander out of consideration for use until Wednesday, and he has minor league options whereas Albert Abreu does not.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Domingo German scratched by Yankees, Luis Severino rotation spot shaky