The day after the baseball trade deadline passed, the pitching problems of the New York Yankees became even more dire.

Right after the team struck out in a bid to obtain help for its beleaguered rotation, one its members was lost – apparently for the year – because of apparent alcohol abuse. Just like that, Domingo German went from perfect game pitcher to imperfect player.

“It’s a very serious issue that affects way too many people,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters before the game at Yankee Stadium Wednesday night. “I’m not going to comment on the details other than the fact that Ground Zero was [Tuesday], which led to today.”

German, 30, has a contract through 2024 but also has a checkered past that included alcohol abuse plus a related 81-game suspension for allegedly violating the joint domestic violence policy of Major League Baseball.

The last incident occurred after the trade deadline passed at 6 EDT Tuesday, Cashman said.

The Yankees had been busy dealers in previous years but were burned badly by deadline week trades in 2022. This year, their rotation features All-Star Game starter Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, and a bunch of question-marks.

Left-hander Carlos Rodón, an All-Star last year, signed as a free agent (six years, $162 million) and joined holdovers Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino, and German. But Rodón, who recently returned, and Cortes have been sidelined by injury for chunks of the season and Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino, obtained from Oakland last year, haven’t pitched at all.

German is 5-7 with a mediocre 4.56 earned run average but had 114 strikeouts in 108 2/3 innings. His perfect game against the Athletics in Oakland June 28 was the first in the majors since Felix Hernandez threw one for the Seattle Mariners in 2012 and the first by a Yankee since David Cone in 1999.

German, who had completed only one previous start and never thrown a shutout in his career, needed 99 pitches in his masterpiece after entering the game with an ERA of 5.10.

The performance gave the Yankees hope that German would find the form behind his 2019 career peaks of 18 wins, 153 strikeouts, and 143 innings pitched. Now his future with the team – or with any other team – is in jeopardy.

“The problem goes back years,” manager Aaron Boone told The New York Post. “In a lot of ways, he’s been a good citizen to where that hasn’t come into play affecting his job. “I hope and pray he gets the right kind of help that truly gets him going in the right direction for the rest of his life.”

In a press release pertaining to the situation, the Yankees announced, “Domingo Germán has agreed today to voluntarily submit to inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse. He will be placed on the restricted list for the time that he is away from the club. It is critical that Domingo completely focuses on addressing his health and well-being. We will respect his privacy as he begins this process.”

The 6-2, 180-pound right-hander hails from the Dominican town of San Pedro de Macoris, best-known as a shortstop factory. He was earning $2,600,000 this season.

Losing German tightens the screws on the team, which began a weekend series against the World Champion Houston Astros with a 56-52 record, three-and-a-half games behind in the chase for a post-season berth as an American League wild-card team. Five other clubs, including the Astros, are also within that same margin.

In the American League East title chase, however, the Yankees entered play Thursday 10 games behind, last in baseball’s most competitive division.

For a team that ranks second among the 30 clubs with a $295,047,492 payroll, better results are expected. The Yankees lead the major leagues with 27 world championships and 40 pennants but have not won a flag since 2009, when they also won the World Series.