New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said last week that pitcher Nestor Cortes was possibly on the verge of returning from his elbow injury and may be an option for the team if they advanced to the World Series.
With Game 1 of the Fall Classic between the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers set for Friday night, it was reported on Tuesday that the southpaw was expected to be on the roster for the series.
Cortes discussed his potential participation in the World Series, admitting just how significant of a risk he was willing to take in order to be available.
Ace Gerrit Cole is slated to toe the rubber for New York on Friday in Los Angeles and Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and/or Luis Gil are among the likely options for Games 2-4. That leaves “Nasty Nestor” in line for a spot in the Yankees bullpen.
The 29-year-old Cortes hasn’t pitched in a game in more than a month, with his most recent outing came on Sept. 18, when he hurled six innings against the Seattle Mariners.
The 2022 All-Star was placed on the 15-day injured list in late September, closing an inconsistent regular season where he finished 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA and 1.15 WHIP across 174 1/3 innings.
While Cortes has experience as both a starter (86 games) and a reliever (49 games), all but one of his appearances out of the bullpen came before 2022.
He made his only relief appearance in 2024 on Sept. 7 against the Chicago Cubs, working 4 1/3 hitless, scoreless frames while striking out three and walking one.
