The Yankees have punched their ticket to the postseason but are facing a potentially worrisome injury scenario, as lefty Nestor Cortes — who had been slated to start tonight’s game against the Orioles — is undergoing an MRI to evaluate his left elbow, as first reported by Jack Curry of the YES Network.
Assuming that takes him out of consideration to take the mound, the Yanks could go with Marcus Stroman (who recently moved to the ’pen) or call up an arm from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Right-handers Cody Poteet, Yoendrys Gomez and Will Warren are all on the 40-man roster and all fresh. Poteet has pitched the most big league innings of that trio this season (21) and had the most success as well (2.14 ERA). Curry adds that Poteet is headed to the Bronx, suggesting he’ll get the nod, though there’s no official word from the team just yet.
Cortes, 29, has pitched a career-high 174 1/3 innings in the majors this season and been quite effective along the way. He’s started 30 games (also a career-high) and notched a 3.77 earned run average while fanning a solid 22.8% of his opponents against a terrific 5.5% walk rate. Though he’s a pronounced fly-ball pitcher (31.1% grounder rate), Cortes has scaled back on some of the home run troubles that have plagued him in his career; he entered the season having averaged 1.49 round-trippers per nine innings pitched but has scaled that back to a more palatable (but still higher than average) 1.24 mark in 2024.
It’s not clear that Cortes would be a part of the Yankees’ postseason rotation, but he’d certainly play a key role in the bullpen even if the team opted to go with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and one of Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt in the top three spots. (Cole and Rodon are locks, health permitting.) Cortes is no stranger to working in relief. He’s primarily been a starter in recent seasons but has nevertheless seen 37% of his career appearances come in a relief setting.
The Yankees have a pair of veteran left-handed options in the ’pen regardless, with Tim Hill and Tim Mayza both on the roster, but neither can miss bats at the same level as Cortes. Mayza also carries alarming platoon splits, making him more ideal for strict left-on-left matchups. Cortes would also be an obvious option to give manager Aaron Boone some length out of the bullpen in the event of a short start during postseason play.
All of those scenarios are now on hold as the Yankees await word on Cortes’ apparently ailing elbow. Taking a step back to look at the bigger picture for Cortes himself, a serious injury would be about as poorly timed as possible (not that there’s ever a “good” time for a major health setback). He’s headed into his final offseason of arbitration eligibility and due a raise on this year’s $3.95MM salary. An injury that threatens a significant portion of his 2025 season could leave Cortes as a non-tender candidate, given that he’s slated to become a free agent following the 2025 season. And, if there is something at play that impacts his 2025 availability, that’d obviously cut short what should be his platform season in advance of free agency, where he’d stand as a clear candidate for a multi-year deal with good health.
CravenMoorehead
Bring up Poteet. For the love of God do not let Will Warren start another game.
cooperhill
Tubby little Nestor!
Old York
I think we need some awards and leaderboards for injured and suspended players.
I liked that meme about Anthony Rendon being a 50-50 player. 50 IL stints and 50 games suspended.
mlbnyyfan
OMG never a dull moment. I didn’t know Poteet was healthy what are they waiting for. Release Holmes if Baltimore can get rid of Kimbrel Yankees can get rid of Holmes. Whatever the reason Yankees refuse to give up on the dead weight. DJL better stay far away from October roster.
Edp007
Every time I see your name , reminds me of growing up as a kid the 60s in a place called North York … where York was really Toronto had that wonderful British character and atmosphere … great times
andyger63
Not a good development.
Joe says...
Rub some dirt on it Nestor!! This is the time of year when you’re needed the most.
CravenMoorehead
Open up that elbow area and hit it with some flex seal at this point
Finz420
I believe in Yoendrys
Ronk325
I really hope this isn’t too serious because Nestor was going to be a key piece of the postseason bullpen. It would also be very unfortunate for Nestor personally being a year away from free agency