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What would you sacrifice to win a World Series? New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes is willing to give up a year of professional baseball.
The lefty is in the running to make the Yankees' World Series roster despite missing the first two rounds of the postseason with a left elbow flexor strain. New York placed him on the 15-day injured list on September 25 after three straight lights-out appearances that made him a leading candidate to crack the playoff rotation. Over his last 15.1 innings pitched in the regular season, he allowed only one run on seven hits while striking out 18.
He's been working his way back ever since and threw live batting practice on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Meeting with the media after, he indicated that he would risk further injury if it meant helping the Yankees capture their 28th championship.
“We have weighed in the consequences this can lead up to, but if I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, then so be it,” he said, according to ESPN's Jorge Castillo.
Cortes was initially an option to replace Ian Hamilton on the Championship Series roster after his injury in Game 3, but the Yankees went with reliever Mark Leiter Jr. instead.
“What he had is real enough to not want to skip steps and put him in a bad career position,” manager Aaron Boone said, per MLB.com. “If we get through this, I think he is definitely in play [for a World Series roster spot].”
How the Yankees can use Nestor Cortes in the World Series
Cortes appeared in 31 games in 2024, making 30 starts and going 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA. After a lost 2023 season, the 2022 All-Star struggled to find consistency this season. He finished strong, however, sporting a sub-2.00 ERA from mid-August until his injury.
If he does, in fact, crack the World Series roster, Boone has not indicated yet how the team would use him. Gerrit Cole is already the announced Game 1 starter against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, with Carlos Rodon likely to follow. Given Clarke Schmidt's home/road splits, he could get the Game 2 nod instead, but regardless, those three will almost certainly handle the first three games. Luis Gil got the job done in Game 4 of the ALCS, but Boone could opt for more experience and go with Cortes in that spot, using Gil as a long man.
The Yankees carried 12 pitchers on their ALCS roster and Boone said on Tuesday that 13 was a possibility for the World Series, leaving room for Cortes, Marcus Stroman and Gil to all make the cut. Stroman, however, never even got into a game in the ALCS, with Boone preferring to go to his trusted stable of middle relievers as a bridge to closer Luke Weaver.
Similar to how the Yankees could have used Stroman in the ALCS, Cortes can serve as a long reliever in a blowout as a way to spare the bullpen, or he can piggyback with Gil, allowing the youngster to empty the tank in the first three or four innings before Cortes comes in to get the game to the late innings.
