In an ideal world, the New York Yankees will be starting Gerrit Cole when they take on the the Houston Astros in their Opening Day tussle on March 28. However, Spring Training hasn't exactly gone ideally for the Yankees, as Cole is set to miss at least one to two months due to an elbow injury. While Cole's absence is sure to be a major detriment to the Yankees, they have a few starters ready to answer the call of holding the fort until their ace's return.
One of those pitchers is Nestor Cortes, the 29-year old lefty who has shown in the past that he can pitch with the best of them when he's clicking on all cylinders. The Yankees certainly have faith in Cortes; after all, they are calling upon him to start on Opening Day, with Cortes being very grateful of the opportunity that lies ahead for him.
“It’s special. Obviously, under the circumstances we are now, it’s not ideal. But you’re happy when you’re named Opening Day starter. It’s cool. It’s something to add to the resume, for sure,” Cortes said, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
Since the Yankees re-acquired Nestor Cortes in 2021, the lefty has been a different pitcher; he has tallied a total of 6.0 WAR in his three seasons with the team since, emerging as a solid middle of the rotation option for New York.
But now, the Yankees believe that Cortes is capable of fronting their rotation, and the 29-year old is now looking to repay the team's faith in him by doing his best come Opening Day.
“I’ve kind of always been the up-and-down guy earlier in my career, at best a fifth starter. I was able to get the All-Star [appearance] under my belt, but this [Opening Day assignment] was far-fetched for me. I’m just happy that Aaron Boone and the organization have the trust in me to go out there for the first game,” Cortes added.
Nestor Cortes will now be looking to bounce-back from a topsy-turvy 2023 season. Following a breakout 2022, Cortes struggled to the tune of a 4.97 ERA as injuries limited him to just 12 starts (63.1 innings pitched).
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