The 26-year-old righty entered Spring Training with no guaranteed roster spot. The best he could hope for was making the big league club as a long reliever. Maybe he could snag a spot start while CC Sabathia served his five-game suspension. Throw in competition from 24-year-old Jonathan Loaisiga, and German’s uphill battle got steeper.
Well, that all changed this week. Staff ace Luis Severino was diagnosed with right rotator cuff inflammation and won’t pitch for two weeks. Manager Aaron Boone has already said Severino’s status for Opening Day is “unlikely” at this point.