NEW YORK — Just one day after New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone remarked that he feels this year’s squad has the most complete roster of his tenure heading into October, the club received news that starting pitcher Nestor Cortes needs an MRI on his left elbow.
The Yankees haven’t officially announced whether Cortes will make his scheduled start on Wednesday, but it seems unlikely. Cody Poteet was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as first reported by YES Network’s Jack Curry and confirmed by a team source to The Athletic. Cortes has been feeling discomfort in his elbow for the past few days. The Yankees could start Poteet or Marcus Stroman in Cortes’ place. With five games remaining, whoever starts would not make another appearance during the regular season.
More importantly than Wednesday’s game, losing Cortes would be a significant blow to the Yankees’ pitching staff in the postseason. Even if Cortes has to miss a minimum of 15 days on the injured list, he would not be eligible to pitch in the American League Division Series, which will be the Yankees’ first playoff series if they claim the AL East title as expected.
After getting the win against Seattle, Nestor Cortes has his eyes set on winning the AL East.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/LxmEveVC0g
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 19, 2024
The Yankees only need three starters in the ALDS, and who the third starter might be remains uncertain. Cortes, along with Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, and Stroman, would be in the mix. In his last seven appearances, including six starts, Cortes has a 1.58 ERA with 38 strikeouts and an opponent OPS of .547. Even if Cortes is unlikely to be that third starter in the ALDS, he has positioned himself as one of the team’s most important pitchers in October.
Jake Cousins underwent imaging on his pectoral muscle and received news that he could resume throwing off a mound later this week. Cousins told reporters it’s his goal and expectation that he’ll be ready for Game 1 of the ALDS. That leaves two or three spots for Stroman, Leiter, Mayza, Beeter and Poteet if the Yankees want to carry 13 pitchers.
Looking ahead for Cortes: If he receives the worst possible news that he needs Tommy John surgery, it could mark the end of his tenure in pinstripes. He’s under team control for one more year before free agency. With Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner saying the team’s payroll is unsustainable, they could non-tender Cortes and save roughly $6 million. This would not be the first time in recent history that they’ve non-tendered a pitcher heading for surgery; they did it with reliever Lou Trivino in 2023, Kahnle in 2020 and Nathan Eovaldi in 2016.
This story will be updated.
(Top photo of Nestor Cortes: Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
