In battle for spot in Yankees’ rotation, Domingo German has been there, done that

TAMPA, Fla. — The battle for the Yankees’ fifth starter job may well come down to this:

Domingo German has more experience starting in the majors than Clarke Schmidt does.

The Yankees like both pitchers quite a bit, but tabbing German for the fifth slot would mean sliding Schmidt into the bullpen as a swingman, a role in which he  generally performed well last year in multiple stints with the big-league club. German, meanwhile, has minimal experience in the bullpen.

German, who allowed one hit and a walk in three scoreless innings Monday night against the Pirates in his second start of what has been a strong spring training, posted a 3.61 ERA in 15 games last season, 14 of them starts. Schmidt, who also has impressed  — especially with a cutter he’s incorporated into his repertoire, a pitch Gerrit Cole called “legit” on  Monday — went 5-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 29 games last season, three of them starts.

German has appeared in 92 games in the big leagues, 70 of those starts. Schmidt has pitched in 34 games, starting five of them.  

With the Yankees believing in each pitcher, it’s not a stretch to extrapolate that the path of least resistance — at least to start the season — would be to put German in the rotation.

“It all matters. Everything matters,” Aaron Boone said before the game of how much the organization will consider each player’s experience at the big-league level in choosing a winner in the competition. “It’s all part of how you shape your evaluations — where you think a guy is, what you think he’s capable of, what you think he is moving forward. Ultimately, we’re trying to make the best projection or guess of them moving forward, but certainly their history matters.”

Cole, asked to evaluate the attributes of the contenders Monday afternoon, began by referencing what has been German’s best season to date — 2019, when he went 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA (German is 26-21 with a 4.37 ERA in his career).

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