New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sept. 22 with a left-elbow flexor strain, the team announced Wednesday.
The southpaw was scheduled to start Wednesday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles but was scratched and sent for an MRI, revealing the damage’s extent.
Cortes will not throw for at least seven to 10 days and is getting second opinions from Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. Keith Meister regarding his UCL and any possible surgical procedures. In the meantime, he will receive a PRP shot in the coming days.
Marcus Stroman was called upon to take the hill on Wednesday, while Cody Poteet was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Now on the precipice of the postseason, the Yankees are dealing with a sizeable blow to their starting rotation, which was suddenly expected to feature Cortes prominently throughout, thanks to a solid stretch of play.
The 29-year-old mended a difficult start to the season, allowing just one earned run across his last three outings (15.1 innings) with 18 strikeouts. Since Aug. 13 (seven starts), he was 4-0 with a 1.58 ERA to improve his 2024 stat line to 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA.
Behind Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Luis Gil, Cortes figured to be in the conversation as a No. 4 starter during the postseason alongside Clarke Schmidt. Now, it appears that job will solely be Schmidt’s unless manager Aaron Boone wants to experiment with taking Stroman out of the bullpen for the playoffs.
Boone moved the veteran right-hander into the bullpen on Sept. 13 but warned that, “nothing is permanent.”
