More sticky business in MLB as Yankees pitcher suspended

NEW YORK — New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German was suspended for 10 games Wednesday by Major League Baseball and fined for violating the sport's prohibition of foreign substances on the mound.

The penalty was announced following German's ejection in the fourth inning on Tuesday night at Toronto for what an umpire said was "the stickiest hand I've ever felt".

"My fingers had a hard time coming off his palm," crew chief James Hoye explained after the game.

The punishment was imposed by Michael Hill, MLB's senior vice-president for on-field operations. German did not appeal, and his suspension began with Wednesday night's game in Toronto.

The 30-year-old German cannot be replaced on the roster while he is suspended. Barring rain-outs, he will be eligible to return May 28 against San Diego.

"He went over the line that umpires deemed and now we've got to live with the consequences of that," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Wednesday in Toronto. "No one player needs to carry this load. We'll share it all and we'll do it together."

Yankees right-hander Luis Severino is expected to be activated off the injured list on Sunday to start in German's place against the Cincinnati Reds.

A two-time All-Star, the 29-year-old Severino has not pitched for New York this season because of a right lat strain. He allowed two runs and six hits over 3 1/3 innings on Tuesday in a rehab start with Double-A Somerset.

German, who is Dominican, had retired his first nine batters on Tuesday night. He denied Hoye's assertion, saying he didn't have anything on his hand other than rosin.

"It was definitely just the rosin bag," German said through a translator. "It was sweat and the rosin bag. I don't need any extra help to grab the baseball."

German's ejection was the fourth since Major League Baseball started its crackdown on prohibited grip aids two years ago, and the second this season.

Hoye's crew examined the 30-year-old right-hander during an April 15 start against Minnesota, when German retired his first 16 batters, but allowed him to stay in that game. Hoye had asked German to wash rosin off his hand and some had remained on the pitcher's pinkie.

Mets pitcher Max Scherzer was suspended for sticky stuff on April 20, and Seattle's Hector Santiago and Arizona's Caleb Smith were suspended in 2021.

Agencies via Xinhua