Yankees’ Nestor Cortes Expected to Hit 15-Day IL With Left Shoulder Injury
The never-ending injury bug has claimed yet another New York Yankees player: left-hander Nestor Cortes, who is slated to land on the 15-day injured list due to a left shoulder injury.
Cortes, who missed most of spring training and last March’s WBC with a grade 2 hamstring strain, is expected to return to the IL and miss at least a few starts, Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers – a game the Bronx Bombers won 4-1.
With the club returning to New York on Monday, the 28-year-old will undergo an MRI on his shoulder to determine how much time he’ll miss. But early indications are he shouldn’t be sidelined overly long.
“We don’t think it’s anything too major, but the last couple of times recovering in between, he’s had that achiness,” Boone told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
The 2022 All-Star isn’t expected to require surgery or any procedure, Boone said, although the Yankees won’t know 100 percent either way until his test results return.
Cortes admitted he’s been experiencing discomfort over the last couple of starts, impacting his recovery process between outings. And these issues have since created a carryover effect that has prevented him from performing at his best.
But a few weeks off should address this concern, or at least that’s the hope.
“I’m not really concerned, it’s just a lot of soreness,” Cortes said post-game. “I haven’t been able to bounce back like I’ve wanted to between starts. Hopefully, everything comes back clean tomorrow [Monday] on the MRI and we can get ahead of it and get better.
“Hopefully we can get it better.”
The Yankees’ starter didn’t show cause for concern in his most recent start, however, tossing five innings of two-run ball in a 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. He issued three walks, one shy of his season high, but struck out six batters on 14 swinging strikes.
Cortes has infamously struggled later in games this season, especially when the lineup turns over for a third time, as opponents are slashing .447/.500/1.021 against him in these situations. Seven of his 10 home runs against have also occurred during a third time through the order.
On the season, the 5-foot-11 lefty owns a 5.16 ERA, 4.60 FIP and 15.9 percent strikeout-to-walk-rate difference across 59.1 innings in 11 starts. In 2022, meanwhile, he posted career bests in ERA (2.44), xERA (2.70), FIP (3.13), OPP AVG (.188) and fWAR (3.6).
As Cortes heads to the IL, joining fellow starters Carlos Rodón and Frankie Montas, Clarke Schmidt will assume his spot in the rotation during Tuesday’s bout versus the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees could also turn to Jhony Brito or Randy Vásquez for depth.
Aaron Judge could also potentially join Cortes on the shelf as the 2022 American League MVP injured his right toe while making a wall-crashing catch in Saturday’s game at Dodger Stadium, causing him to miss Sunday’s finale.
Boone isn’t sure how much time Judge will miss but is expected to undergo testing – including X-rays and possibly an MRI – to determine the severity of his toe’s injury once the Yankees return to New York.
Given how injury-riddled they have been thus far, extended absences from Cortes and Judge would further complicate the club’s AL East Division aspirations.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: DR Buddie. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.