9:30pm: Judge tells Hoch that he expects to undergo X-rays and/or an MRI when the club gets back to New York.
5:58pm: Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes has a shoulder issue and is likely headed for the 15-day injured list, with Bryan Hoch of MLB.com among those to relay word from manager Aaron Boone (Twitter links). Boone hopes that Cortes will only miss one or two starts but the southpaw is undergoing an MRI to determine the exact nature and severity of the issue.
It’s not clear exactly when the issue arose, though Boone says Cortes has been having issues recovering in between his starts. If the club does indeed have to proceed without Cortes, that would obviously not be ideal, but it would perhaps at least lead to an explanation for his diminished results on the season.
The lefty bounced around to various clubs in the early parts of his career before breaking out with the Yankees in the last two years. He tossed 251 1/3 innings over 2021 and 2022, posting a combined 2.61 ERA in that time. He struck out 26.9% of opponents while walking 6.4%. Through 11 starts this year, his ERA is way up to 5.16 while his strikeout rate has dropped to 23.4% and his walks are up to 7.5%.
Despite that tepid performance, the Yanks surely don’t need yet another pitching injury to deal with. Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodón have yet to appear so far this season due to their own injuries and the club has also has to navigate absences from Domingo Germán and Luis Severino. Those latter two are now back in action, slotted alongside Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt in the current rotation.
If Cortes does indeed miss a small amount of time, the club would likely need a spot start from one of Randy Vásquez or Jhony Brito. Both of them are on the 40-man roster and have been up in the majors at times this year. The Yanks have a handful of off-days this month that would limit the need for their services, though that need would obviously grow if the shoulder issue with Cortes proves to be more significant than hoped.
Rotation help could be coming further down the line as Rodón continues his march towards his Yankee debut. He suffered a forearm strain during Spring Training and then was slowed by a back issue that doctors have told him is chronic. Nonetheless, he’s been ramping up his activities in recent weeks and will face live hitters on Wednesday, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. His return to the majors leagues isn’t imminent as he will still need to build up to a full starter’s workload, but it’s encouraging that he’s jumping through the usual hoops without issue at the moment.
Elsewhere on the roster, Aaron Judge is out of tonight’s lineup with a minor issue. He made a spectacular catch last night, crashing into the wall at Dodger Stadium and busting open the bullpen gate, Twitter video per Hoch. Boone says Judge banged his toe and is sore and receiving treatment, per Hoch. There are no plans to place him on the injured list right now but it will depend how things progress. “I don’t know,” Boone tells Hoch in response to the IL question. “Not at this point. We’ll see how he is today, tomorrow and the next day.”
That will obviously be an important situation to monitor as Judge is having yet another excellent season. The reigning American League MVP has 19 home runs on the year already and is slashing .291/.404/.674 for a wRC+ of 188. With fellow outfielders Harrison Bader and Greg Allen already on the injured list, it would be a significant blow if Judge were to join them. With Judge out of the lineup tonight, the Yanks have Willie Calhoun, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jake Bauers in the outfield with Giancarlo Stanton in the designated hitter slot. Franchy Cordero is on the 40-man roster and could be recalled if Judge does eventually require an IL stint.
Boone predicting how many games Cortes will miss before he even knows the severity. Vintage Boone.
“Tis but a scratch.” Aaron Black Knight Boone
Horribly news. Hopefully it’s just 1 or 2 starts missed. Nestor really started pitching better of late. Vasquez or Brito are likely coming back up from AAA.
IKF pitches….
boone: nestor was pronounced dead last night. we send thoughts and prayers to his family and expect him back within a week
The way he’s pitched this year, I think he’s missing more than two starts.
He pitched so well last year. I hope he comes back to form soon.
The long ball has bitten him.
The pitch clock inhibits the use of his gimmicky windup. Guy is just average now.
Are Yankee pitchers having a reaction from the sticky stuff?
Uh oh spaghetti ohs
Willie Calhoun can man center in judges stead. Big woo
This guy sucks. One hit wonder. 5.16 ERA. Trade him while he still has some value
He’s thrown 60 innings. Before that he had well over 200 IP of outstanding production but you’re ready to throw him away?
I like his style but the league has adapted. He will need to do the same
Pitch clock ruined him
He’s always pitched quickly so I don’t see why that would hurt him.
It’s speculated he injured himself carrying 2-24 packs of Corona and a taco platter while in LA.
I have absolutely no idea where this team will finish but I have to say they are a plucky bunch and easy to root for. Nice victory today. Volpe’s numbers aren’t great in all cases but he is getting the job done!
Mickey, well said. Considering all the injuries to the lineup and rotation and all the scrap heap players it’s amazing they are 11 games over. They are scrappy and continue to play competitively.
I’m focused on his 9 HRs and 13/13 SBs especially when he hasn’t spent much time in AAA. I can’t wait to see what his “good” numbers are.
YBC,
Agreed as usual. Wonder if he switches to second someday, and Peraza takes over at SS. This was the Yankees original intent, but Peraza’s injury and Glyebar’s hot start put that move on hold.
Depends on what they do with Gleyber which depends on what Volpe and Peraza does. Lol. If the plan goes accordingly, then trade him this offseason or let him walk.
Just love all the Boone haters on here. Keyboard warriors who refuse to acknowledge the fact that Boone is a terrific skipper. Forget the fact that the NYY job was his first managing gig. His record has been great. But, of course, until he wins his first WS, he’s damaged goods. LOL.
So his coaches and teammates will tell him what pitch is coming but they won’t tell him to watch out for the wall?
I feel a lot of the Boone vitriol stems from him being hired to be a “puppet manager”. The Yankees are certainly not the only current team which implements such strategy. It’s a big departure from the managing ways of Joe Torre and Girardi. Boone handles the media better than those two and has done a terrific job keeping the clubhouse under control. I agree the criticism – fair or unfair – won’t stop until he wins a WS.