NEW YORK — Yankees pitcher Domingo German gave a public apology Wednesday for actions that led to a lengthy suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, a day after he spoke with New York teammates and admitted he had engaged in dangerous conduct.

Speaking softly and dabbing his eyes at times, German said through a translator he wanted “to sincerely apologize to the Steinbrenner family, my teammates, the front office and those around me who love me. I have made mistakes of which I’m not proud of.”

The 28-year-old has been welcomed by teammates but also faced wariness as he attempts to regain a place in the starting rotation.

“He messed up in life,” first baseman Luke Voit said. “I don’t know the things he did. You always get a second chance at this. We have his back. But he’s skating on thin ice, and he needs to get his life together. And I think he’s doing the right steps to do so. But, again, he’s got to prove to us that he can do that.”

German was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 19, 2019 while MLB investigated an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend, with whom he has at least one child.

German missed the final nine games of the 2019 regular season and all nine of New York’s postseason games, then on Jan. 2, 2020, was suspended for 63 games. He missed the entire pandemic-shortened 2020 season and the playoffs. He returned to the Yankees last week for the start of spring training.

“I was able to speak to each player on the team yesterday. The only acceptable way to begin to move forward was to address them face to face,” German said during a Zoom news conference from the Yankees minor league complex in Tampa, Florida, speaking in Spanish with a translator at his side. “What I told the team: There are a lot of young players who wear this uniform and I want them to understand the great damage that can be done when mistakes like mine have been made.”

Giancarlo Stanton thought it was a positive exchange.

“It was very smart to address to the team, just to get it out there, get it in the room and move forward from here,” he said. “It was definitely a big mistake he made, and he understands that. At the same time, it’s, `What are you going to do with that mistake?”‘

Voit called German a friend but said “a lot of guys look at him differently now.”

German was 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 2019 when he was put on leave.

“When my team needed me the most in 2019 before we started the playoffs, I wasn’t there for them. And for that, I ask your forgiveness,” he said. “It was very difficult for me not to be pitching and helping my team. Having to watch from afar, hurt me a lot. But I also understand I am responsible for putting myself in that position.”

German hopes to earn a spot in a rotation projected to include Gerrit Cole, Jordan Montgomery and newcomers Jameson Taillon and Corey Kluber. Manager Aaron Boone said German is competing with Deivi Garcia, Michael King, Asher Wojciechowski, Jhoulys Chacin and Nick Nelson.

“He has done enough to earn the opportunity to be here and to compete and to be a part of this team,” Boone said. “Now, the proof is in the daily life that he leads. And we’re certainly going to do all we can to support him and help him to become the best version of himself possible.”

German thanked Boone, GM Brian Cashman and pitching coach Matt Blake for visiting him in Jupiter, Florida.

“They have always sincerely tried to help me. When I was going through my worst moment, they were there,” German said. “We had a great conversation. And for that I will be eternally grateful to them. I need to show them through my actions how committed I am to re-establishing myself as a contributor to this team.”

German underwent mandatory counseling, which he said was beneficial.

He also addressed his social media account. He wrote last week in Spanish: “Everything is over” then deleted his posts and wrote: “I’m ready.” He said he was trying to convey the suspension period was behind him and was trying to dedicate it as a thank you to his partner, with whom he remains together.

“Regarding social media, I understand that I have not used it in an appropriate way. I have caused a lot of confusion,” he said. “And although my reason has been to connect with fans, I must do it in a better way. It is clear that I must improve on that.”

German would not discuss the events that led to his suspension. He said his actions and behavior will show he is safe for his partner to be around.

“We talked about it a lot, many, many, many times. And we’ve promised to each other not to go through something like this ever again,” he said.

German said he had not spoken directly with owner Hal Steinbrenner. He said he understood why Yankees reliever Zack Britton said last week: “I think sometimes you don’t get to control who your teammates are.”

“He gave me really good advice, which I’m thankful for,” German said, recounting a discussion in which the pitcher told him the comments “were not to be taken personal, more on a professional level.”

German wants to be available to younger teammates for advice.

“I can talk to them in specific details on how you can find yourself in the best time of your professional career and how all of a sudden all can change from one night to the other,” he said.

German said he learned “the biggest thing is about how do you react to certain things? How do you make certain decisions in your life when things are tough? I’m a public figure. I play with this team, this well-known organization throughout the world. How do I know how to behave in the best way possible to represent everybody here?”

COVID-19: American League MVP Jose Abreu tested positive for COVID-19 and will spend a few days away from the Chicago White Sox, and Cardinals reliever Andrew Miller told a St. Louis newspaper he tested positive 10 days before reporting to camp.

White Sox GM Rick Hahn said in a statement that Abreu is “completely asymptomatic.” Hahn said testing also showed the presence of COVID-19 antibodies, and the Cuban slugger believes he had a mild case of the virus in January.

“Other than being frustrated, Jose feels great and, like the rest of us, is looking forward to when he rejoins the club in the not too distant future,” Hahn said.

Manager Tony La Russa said Abreu will likely join the team by Monday and perhaps as soon as Friday.

“He’s rarin’ to go,” La Russa said. “I’ll say this. When he walks in the door, it’s going to be a huge moment for the 2021 White Sox. The guys can’t wait to see him, and he can’t wait to see them.”

Abreu helped the White Sox return to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The three-time All-Star hit .317 with 19 home runs and a major league-leading 60 RBIs in the pandemic-shortened season. He joined Nellie Fox (1959), Dick Allen (1972) and Frank Thomas (1993, 1994) as the team’s only MVP winners.

Miller, meanwhile, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the only symptom he had was losing his sense of smell for a while and that he spent a week-plus quarantined in the guest room of his house.

Miller said he feels all right now and that no one in his family was affected.

“I think I got really lucky,” Miller said. “I don’t know how I got it. I don’t believe I passed it along to anybody in my family. My contacts were very limited but it sounds like everybody got through and I’m the only one I know that got it. I’m glad to get a clean bill of health.

“I do have some very minor fatigue, basically from being shut down. As much I would prefer not to have been infected with COVID, it’s over and done with and, in a sense, maybe one less thing to worry about since it appears I’ve come through the other side pretty good,” he said.

Miller, 35, said he’s going to pace himself.

Miller was 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in and four saves in 16 appearances in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He made one appearance in the Cardinals’ wild-card series loss to the San Diego Padres.

In the first batch of results disclosed by the league last Friday, 13 positive tests were found among 4,336 samples.

TRADE: Two days after being designated for assignment by the Oakland Athletics, outfielder Dustin Fowler was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash.

He had been part of the club’s 60-player pool last season but stayed at the alternate site and didn’t play.

Fowler had been considered a possible center fielder of the future for the A’s when Oakland acquired him from the Yankees at the 2017 trade deadline in a deal that sent right-hander Sonny Gray to New York.

Fowler arrived shortly after a freak injury in his major league debut on June 29, 2017. He was injured in the first inning and never even got a big league at-bat – he had been on deck when the top of the first inning ended.

Then, running at full speed, the right fielder crashed into the low corner wall at Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field while chasing Jose Abreu’s two-out foul. Fowler ruptured the patellar tendon in his knee when it hit a metal box used for Wi-Fi, and he was carted off for immediate surgery to repair the damage and close the wound.

Fowler batted .224 with six home runs and 23 RBI in 69 games with the A’s in 2018. The A’s needed roster room for new closer Trevor Rosenthal.

MARINERS: Top Seattle prospect Jarred Kelenic and his agent believe the 21-year-old outfielder has been kept off the Mariners’ major league roster because of his refusal to accept a long-term contract offer from the franchise.

Kelenic and agent Brody Scoffield told USA Today they believe Kelenic is being punished. Scoffield said it was made clear Kelenic would have made his debut during the shortened 2020 season had he signed the deal.

“It was made crystal clear to Jarred – then and now – that his decision not to call him up is based on service time. There’s no question that if he signed that contract, he would have been in the big leagues,” Scoffield told USA Today.

Kelenic’s status was at the center of comments made by former team president and CEO Kevin Mather, who resigned this week after online video surfaced of him insinuating the club was delaying the arrival in Seattle of Kelenic and pitcher Logan Gilbert as a way to increase the club’s long-term control over the two prospects. Mather also took shots in the same video at a former All-Star from Japan and a top prospect from the Dominican Republic for their English skills.

The expectation has been that Kelenic and Gilbert would make their debuts in Seattle during the 2021 season.

Seattle General Manager Jerry Dipoto insisted Tuesday that Kelenic’s service time is not being manipulated, noting that while he’s among the top prospects in baseball, Kelenic has played just 21 games above Single-A ball after the 2020 minor league season was wiped out.

Speaking directly to Kelenic’s comments in USA Today, Dipoto told Seattle radio station KJR-AM on Wednesday that the club has been truthful with Kelenic about its plans.

“I’m sorry, Jarred feels that way,” Dipoto said. “We feel that that is the furthest thing from the truth. Our primary concern with all of our players is developing to the best of our ability. We’ve laid out a plan for Jarred, we’ve been very transparent in sharing that with him along the way.”

In his comments to USA Today, Kelenic insisted he believed he could have helped the Mariners contend for a playoff berth a year ago. Seattle has the longest playoff drought in baseball and missed making the expanded 2020 playoffs by two games.

“I know for a fact I could have helped that team out,” Kelenic said. “Not just me, but there are other guys who could have helped that team out.”

BRAVES: Atlanta claimed outfielder Guillermo Heredia off waivers from the New York Mets on Wednesday. Heredia, who was added to Atlanta’s 40-man roster, was designated for assignment on Sunday when the Mets finalized a deal with center fielder Kevin Pillar.

Heredia is the second veteran outfielder to be added to Atlanta’s roster this week. The Braves claimed Phillip Ervin off waivers from the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

“We’ve got a lot of outfielders in camp all of a sudden,” Manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday.

Heredia, 30, played for the Mets and Pittsburgh last season, hitting .212 with two homers and five RBI in 15 games. He has a .239 career batting average in five seasons with Seattle, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and the Mets.

TWINS: Minnesota shortstop Royce Lewis, considered the organization’s top prospect, has a torn ACL in his right knee that will sideline him for the 2021 season.

President of baseball operations Derek Falvey said Wednesday that Lewis was diagnosed with the injury during physical exams upon reporting to spring training. The 21-year-old Lewis, the first overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft, will have reconstructive surgery Friday in Minnesota before returning to camp to begin a rehabilitation process of nine-to-12 months.

Lewis, the 17th-best prospect in Major League Baseball’s 2021 pipeline rankings, finished the 2019 season at Double-A. Because the pandemic wiped out all minor league action in 2020, Lewis will go more than two full years without a game. The Twins signed Andrelton Simmons to play shortstop this season, and Lewis was not expected to be in the majors in 2021.

Lewis told the team he first noticed discomfort in the knee after lateral running drills this month as part of his training regimen. Then, during the winter storms that recently hit Texas, Lewis slipped on ice in the Dallas area where he lives and experienced further soreness. The Twins were unable to determine exactly how or when the ligament was torn.

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