Yankees pitcher plans on using less rosin after suspension

New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German is serving a 10-game suspension for using a foreign substance on the mound and he said on Sunday that when he returns he will use less rosin to avoid any more confusion.

German was suspended a little more than a week ago, following an ejection on May 16 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

After the game, crew chief James Hoye said German had "the stickiest hand" he had ever felt.

It was the second time this season that German has run into an issue with his hand stickiness during a game. In mid-April German was told to wash his hands between innings when another check -- also by Hoye's crew -- had determined his hand was overly saturated.

German told the media on Sunday, via ESPN, that he has to do something different and will probably return to his practices from previous years, when he used less rosin. 

Though he still has no idea what the appropriate amount of rosin actually entails.

"As far as like a direct explanation on how much to use or not, I haven't gotten a better explanation from MLB or the umpires," he said. "To me, I have to keep using it, understand how much to use and keep a balance, but at the same time I've got to keep preparing myself to pitch and keep my routine in between starts to get me in the right shape for the next start and just keep using the rosin bag and try to keep executing pitches."

Major League Baseball has been trying to crack down on pitchers who use sticky substances on their hands in order to increase the spin rate and movement of their pitches. Since beginning that crackdown in 2021, there have been four pitchers suspended for violations, including German. 

He is the second pitcher to be suspended this season, joining New York Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer, who received a 10-game ban in April. Seattle's Hector Santiago and Arizona's Caleb Smith were suspended during the 2021 season. In the two games where German ran into issues this season, he had retired every batter he faced (16 batters in the first game, nine batters in the second game) before the checks from Hoye's crew. 

In nine total starts this season, German has a 2-3 record with a 3.75 ERA across 48 innings pitched. He also has 49 strikeouts.