Domingo German is the MLB's leader in wins this season, after his latest start against the Orioles gave him his 16th victory. But, with that win, it was worth noting how many innings the 26-year-old has already racked up this season.
German has pitched 116 innings so far this season, which shatters his career-high in the bigs at 85.2. Back in 2017, he pitched a total 109 innings, but that's it.
SNY's John Harper spoke to an AL executive to see what the Yankees should do if German hits an inning limit and can't be used in the postseason, but GM Brian Cashman gave the answer we've been looking for on Thursday.
"Yeah," he told SNY's Andy Martino when he asked if German will be good to go in the postseason. "There's no innings limits when you're in October. All safeties are off. We went through that, I think people asked that in the past on Severino or somebody else. When you're in postseason, that's not something that we're focused on."
There have been instances in the past where teams decide to shut down a pitcher because they've reached an innings limit (i.e. Stephen Strasburg for one). However, Cashman points out how German has already been out three weeks this season due to some time on the IL, and that in itself was a break for him.
"He's already had a timeout, so I'm not going to say the level of what his limitations are," he said. "But it will be more of a fair assessment if we didn't have that timeout."
While Cashman cleared that up, he also discussed some of his other players heading into tonight's series opener against the Indians...
On Luis Severino's rehab progression
Severino was seen throwing off the mound yet again today. But this time, he was really "letting it go," according to YES Network's Jack Curry. Sevy himself said that he's expected to face three hitters at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, and after that, he would head to Tampa for a simulation game. The final step would then be rehab games.
Cashman is hopeful that through Severino's consistent progression he could be able to throw around 60-70 pitches in his return to the Yanks. That suggests that Cashman would love to see the young hurler back in his starting role instead of the bullpen, which manager Aaron Boone has said could be an option.
But, again, let's not jump too far ahead. Everything has been positive for Severino thus far.
On Aaron Judge's slump
Judge has been mired in a slump recently. Since the start of August, Judge is hitting .200/.355/.320 with a lone homer and four RBI. Reporters asked if there was anything physical going on with him that could be contributing to the slump.
"None that I'm aware of," Cashman answered. "Those boxes have been checked and asked, but he says he feels good."
On Giancarlo Stanton returning
Stanton has played in just nine games this season, as he has been dealing with multiple ailments. His latest is a pretty serious knee injury, which is why he hasn't been in the picture lately. He continues to work behind the scenes, and Cashman is hopeful a September return is in the cards.
"That's our hope," he said. "...That's an impact bat and he's not just a DH, he's much more than that. Hopefully we'll be in a position where we can utilize him. We do expect him at some point, but he's also coming back from a serious injury that takes time to heal. So we'll just keep waiting on it."