German will open the season as the Yankees' fourth starter, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
CC Sabathia (knee, chest) isn't expected to miss too much time and will bump German back one spot when he returns, but German's starting role should be relatively safe until Luis Severino (shoulder) gets back on the mound in May. Gio Gonzalez, Jonathan Loaisiga and Luis Cessa loom should German fail to impress in his first few starts.