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New York Post | Dan Martin and George A. King III: After causing a stir Friday night with an Instagram story that said “I left baseball. Thanks my people”, Domingo German took to social media again to reverse course and state that he was not retiring. In another Instagram post yesterday, German wrote that he was “sorry for the unsettling” post, and that he was not walking away from baseball. German is not eligible to play during the 2020 regular season, as he is serving a 63-game suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence policy.
Yahoo Sports | Mark Townsend: Not explicitly a Yankees story, but an important one nonetheless; the Blue Jays will not be allowed to play their home games in Toronto this season. Buffalo stands out as a possible alternative site for the Jays. The team had been seeking an exception to the rule that anyone coming to Canada for non-essential reasons had to quarantine for 14 days.
NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: The Yankees pumped in fake crowd noise during their final intrasquad matchup, to mixed reviews. Kuty reports that the fake fans often went wild for innocuous events, such as foul pops, making it seem as though a quiet stadium devoid of noise other than walk-up music and the crack of the bat would be preferable. That said, the drone of a murmuring crowd is a soothing sound to many, so if the Yankees can work out the kinks and keep the fake crowd from erupting during routine grounders and such, perhaps it could prove beneficial.
CBS Sports: The Yankees released Adam Warren, who they had signed to a minor-league contract spanning two years as the right-hander recovered from Tommy John surgery. Warren struggled in 2019, but in the three years prior, he threw a combined 174.1 innings with a 125 ERA+. Here’s hoping Warren can find a way back to the majors somehow.
Also, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that Luis Cessa had cleared protocol and had rejoined the Yankees. It’s good to see that Cessa has apparently recovered from his bout with COVID-19. It’s unlikely he’ll factor into the team’s bullpen plans right away, as he’ll need to ramp up after missing camp.