The New York Yankees are facing a new nasty injury scenario. Left-hander Nestor Cortes, tonight’s scheduled starter, was placed on the 15-day injured list. Right-hander Cody Poteet has been recalled to the Bronx and Marcus Stroman will start on Wednesday as the Yankees look to win their 21st AL East title. Cortes went for an MRI earlier in the day before being placed on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow. Even with his placement on the IL being backdated the maximum of three days, Cortes will be shut down through the Division Series. Should New York make it to the AL Championship Series, depending on his recovery, he could potentially return then.
Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
• Placed LHP Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to 9/22) with a left elbow flexor strain.
• Recalled RHP Cody Poteet (#72) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.Additionally, RHP Marcus…
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 25, 2024
Yankees Place Nestor Cortes on 15-Day Injured List Ahead of Postseason
Nothing over Cortes’ past three outings has suggested that the veteran southpaw has been dealing with any elbow issues. Despite a brief demotion to the Yankees bullpen, Cortes has recorded 18 strikeouts over 15 1⁄3 innings of one-run baseball. This dominant stretch began with the 29-year-old throwing 4⅓ hitless innings of relief against the Chicago Cubs on September 7th. Following his first relief appearance of the season, Cortes shared his frustration with moving to the bullpen. He returned to the rotation for his next appearance holding the Boston Red Sox to one run while striking out nine across five innings. His last start came against the Seattle Mariners, allowing just four hits over six scoreless innings.
Cortés has pitched a career-high 174 ⅓ innings this season and has been quite effective. Two seasons removed from his breakout campaign, he has started a career-high 30 games and owns a 3.77 ERA. He boasts a 22.8% strikeout rate and a career-low 5.55% walk rate while improving his previous home run struggles.
Yankees Staff Grows a Bit Thinner
Cortes would have played a key role for the Yankees in the postseason either as a reliever or a starter. New York does have a pair of veteran left-handed relievers with Tim Hill and Tim Mayza in the bullpen already. But neither have the strikeout ability that Cortes does. He would have also been an option for the Yankees to turn to for some length out of the bullpen.
Depending on the severity, flexor tendon strains can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to heal. Cortes made clear after being placed on the injured list that he intends to return at some point in the postseason. For now, the All-Star southpaw will be shut down from throwing and will have a platelet-rich plasma injection. Cortes plans to get two more opinions on his elbow but hopes rest and rehab will allow him to pitch again this postseason.
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