Yankees’ Nestor Cortes Placed on IL With Elbow Flexor Strain, Could Return For Playoffs
As the New York Yankees look to secure the AL East, they’ll have to do so without left-hander Nestor Cortes, who was placed on the 15-day IL due to a left elbow flexor strain, effectively ending his 2024 season.
The 29-year-old, who recently returned to the starting rotation following a brief stint in the bullpen, was previously scheduled to start Wednesday’s contest versus the Baltimore Orioles but was scratched just hours before hitting the IL.
Instead, New York replaced Cortes with Marcus Stroman, although the veteran righty struggled mightily a night ago, allowing six runs on 10 hits over 3.1 innings in a 9-7 defeat. Additionally, the club recalled fellow right-hander Cody Poteet from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre prior to first pitch.
“He’s been throwing the ball so well and has put together a really good year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Wednesday, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “We certainly feel for him right now. We just have to pick up the slack and support him right now, and then see what we have over the next several days.”
Cortes has been battling a sore left elbow for roughly three weeks, as he explained Wednesday. The pain has come and gone for the most part, but he felt continued discomfort during a bullpen session in Oakland over the weekend, causing the Yankees to send him for an MRI.
Those results revealed a sprain to the flexor tendon in his left elbow. However, the positive news is his UCL didn’t sustain any structural damage. He’ll be shut down from throwing for seven to 10 days and will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection shortly, which may allow him to return at some point this post-season.
But his fate will largely be decided after seeking additional opinions from elbow specialists Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. Keith Meister, both of whom received his MRI results.
“It sucks that I’m in this position right now to where I can’t help the team,” Cortes said. “With what I dealt with last year and how well I prepared this offseason, and how well it’s been going for me, it finally felt like things were clicking for me.”
Multiple IL stints derailed Cortes’ performance last season, as he made only 12 starts while experiencing rotator cuff tendinitis, struggling to a 4.97 ERA and 4.49 FIP across 63.1 innings.
The 2022 All-Star bounced back considerably this season, earning a 3.77 ERA and 3.84 FIP with 162 strikeouts – one shy of matching his career-high set two years ago – over 30 starts and one relief appearance. He finishes his seventh major league season worth 3.2 fWAR, his second-highest rating.
Cortes had been on an impressive run lately, posting a 1.58 ERA and 2.99 FIP in his previous seven outings – six starts, one relief appearance – while allowing one run or less in six of those seven, punching out 38 batters in 40 innings.
“The mentality and the way I’m going to go about it is to come back, depending on how far we go and how well I do with the rehab,” Cortes said. “Obviously, my main focus is to be able to come back and help this team.”
The Yankees will likely roll out ace Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón once the playoffs begin for Games 1 and 2. After that, odds are it’ll probably be Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt to follow, pushing Stroman back to the bullpen in this scenario.
With a win over Baltimore on Thursday, New York will clinch its 21st AL East Division title, securing a first-round bye to the Division Series – buying Cortes additional recovery time.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Matt Boulton. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.