NEW YORK — Sunday, New York Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes Jr. will face his biggest hurdle yet as he hopes to return sometime during the playoffs, even if it’s a long shot.
Cortes will throw for the first time since going on the injured list Sept. 25 with a left elbow flexor strain.
The 29-year-old southpaw will make between 20 and 30 throws during the off day following the Yankees’ win over the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday and before Monday’s Game 2.
“That’s basically the No. 1 hurdle right now,” he said. “I think that will tell (me) if I should keep going or not.”
Cortes said that although he has been throwing plyo balls and that he’s feeling mostly better, he’s not sure how he’ll feel throwing baseballs.
“We’ll see how I wake up the next day and how I’m feeling — if I even make it through (Sunday),” he said. “We’ll see how (Sunday) goes.”
Cortes didn’t rule himself out for a potential return in the AL Championship Series, which would begin Oct. 14, though it seems unlikely.
“The goal is to be back as soon as possible,” he said. “Obviously, not putting myself at risk, and I think we’ve talked about it with the trainers about how they want to take care of me. Obviously, the plans for me in the future and career-wise. So, like I said, I think tomorrow will be a really good day to know how far we want to push this and if we are.”
Cortes will be a free agent after next season. He’s making $3.9 million this year via salary arbitration. He was shut down for more than a week after the Yankees put him on the IL, and he was expected to get a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow.
The Yankees had gone into late September seemingly leaning toward using Cortes out of the bullpen in the playoffs. He went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 31 games (30 starts).
“As of now, I’m feeling good,” he said. “Symptoms are getting better. There were some symptoms I was feeling in different positions that I’m not feeling. It’s getting better, but I’m not throwing a baseball, which is obviously the No. 1 goal. We’ll see how it goes.”
The Yankees almost certainly wouldn’t be able to use Cortes as a starting pitcher in the playoffs, especially since they already have four starters on their playoff roster: Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil. Cortes has made 49 relief appearances in his career. The Yankees surely project him to be part of their starting rotation in 2025.
And his biggest test since his injury will come Sunday.
“And then after that, it’s how quick we want to move along,” he said. “Obviously, if my body responds and if my arm responds, we’ll try to be as quick as possible. But like I said this week, that would be huge for me.”
(Photo: Adam Hunger / Getty Images)
