Yankees option Domingo German, Luis Cessa to join rotation

Domingo German was roughed up during tonight’s outing against the Mets. He got into trouble in the first inning, and left the game with four earned runs in the fourth. The right-hander has put together the occasional good outing since joining the rotation, but for the most part he has been as bad as his 5.68 ERA indicates. Although the Yankees really tried to make it work with him as a starter, it seems that that experiment is over. Following tonight’s game, the Yankees optioned German to Triple-A. According to Marc Carig, Luis Cessa will join the rotation.

It’s doubtful that Cessa will be much of an improvement, but the Yankees just couldn’t afford to keep running German out there every five days. It seems like he is better suited for the bullpen. For his part, Cessa tossed six scoreless innings in Scranton tonight. He gave up just two hits, didn’t allow a walk, and struck out nine batters. Hopefully that will translate to some success when he joins the rotation next week.

The Yankees haven’t announced a corresponding move yet, but will likely call up a pitcher tomorrow. In the meantime, Brian Cashman better be working the phones. The Yankees need a pitching upgrade in the worst way.