The New York Yankees will be looking to make a World Series run this postseason after a fantastic 2024. However, they could be without a key piece of their rotation for part of the ALDS, at the very least.
Nestor Cortes has been placed on the IL with an elbow injury. He was supposed to start Wednesday's game, but instead, he's now going to be sidelined. The move is retroactive to September 22. Cortes had an MRI on his left elbow Wednesday. Per Jorge Castillo, he's only expected to be shut down for 7-10 days and Cortes remains optimistic he will pitch if the Yanks go deep into the playoffs.
If he returns at some point in the Division Series, we could see Cortes come out of the bullpen given his versatility. Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Carlos Rodon will probably be the main starters in the first round. This is a tough blow for the Yankees regardless because Cortes has been pitching extremely well lately.
He's only allowed one earned run in his last 15.1 innings. In Cortes' last outing against the Seattle Mariners on September 18, he tossed six scoreless frames and only surrendered four hits. On the year, the Cuban owns a 9-10 record and a 3.77 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts). He's a consistent weapon for the Yankees.
Cortes has thrown a career-high 174.1 innings this season, striking out 22.8% of his opponents while compiling an impressive walk rate of just 5.5%. The ALDS will begin on either October 5 or October 6. There's no question Cortes will be sidelined for the beginning of the series. If the Yankees are still in the playoffs when he returns, don't be surprised to see the southpaw in a relief role. That's a familiar spot for Cortes, who has experience in various situations.
NY needs just one win in this three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles in order to clinch the American League East title. They dropped the series opener on Tuesday by a score of 5-3 at Yankee Stadium.
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