Yankees' Domingo German Uninjured After Car Crash in Dominican Republic

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Friday that right-handed starting pitcher Domingo German was uninjured after his involvement in a car crash in the Dominican Republic. 

Per Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record, Boone said German was a passenger in the car and sitting in the back seat behind the driver in the crash, which took place Thursday. He was evaluated at the Yankees' Dominican Republic complex afterward.

German is not with the team at its training camp in Tampa Bay, Florida as a result of an 81-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence policy.

The suspension didn't directly mandate that German sit spring training out, but the Yankees asked German to work in the Dominican Republic instead.

Ken Davidoff of the New York Post explained the reasoning:

"In the wake of an ebullient offseason during which they landed ace Gerrit Cole for a $324 million contract and saw their two chief rivals, the Astros and Red Sox, engulfed by both the illegal sign-stealing scandal and talent losses, the Yankees didn't want to disrupt their positive karma with the arrival of German, who hasn't been seen publicly since before an incident last Sept. 16 with Mara Vega, the mother of his children. They also wanted to make sure that German continued — and prioritized — his mandated evaluation and treatment.

"As part of his suspension, German agreed that he wouldn't participate in any Grapefruit League games, and he didn't contest the idea of skipping all of spring training. Hence he complied with the Yankees' thinking. Baseball's Basic Agreement doesn't specify where a player must serve his suspension."

Hannah Keyser of Yahoo Sports reported the details that led to German's suspension:

"The 27-year-old German allegedly slapped his girlfriend, mother of at least one of his children, following CC Sabathia's charity gala on Sept. 16. There were conflicting reports at the time regarding where the incident took place and who witnessed it — specifically whether it was a member of the commissioner’s office who saw the altercation take place."

No criminal charges were filed against German, but the MLB Players Association did not contest the administrative leave on which the pitcher was initially put on Sept. 19, 2019. The suspension, which is retroactive to that date, was not appealed.

German will sit the first 63 games of the Yankees' 2020 season. Barring any schedule changes, he'll be eligible to come back during the team's June 5-7 three-game home series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 27-year-old German went 18-4 with 153 strikeouts and a a 4.03 ERA in 27 games (24 starts) last season.