The New York Yankees have clinched a playoff berth and are on the verge of also clinching the AL East and a first-round bye in the playoffs behind a transcendent season from Aaron Judge, a dominant debut/contract year from Juan Soto, and some scrappy starting pitching that has collectively put together one of the more successful rotations in baseball.
One key unit of that rotation has been Nestor Cortes, but the lefty now has an uncertain future after one insider revealed some concerning injury news.
Jack Curry of the YES Network shared on X that Cortes will miss his turn in the rotation as tonight’s scheduled starter against the Baltimore Orioles to get an MRI on his left elbow.
Concerning news for the Yankees as Nestor Cortes, tonight’s scheduled starter, is getting an MRI on his left elbow. Cortes has been dynamic lately (1 ER in 15 1/3 innings) and loomed as a valuable weapon in the postseason, as a reliever or a starter. #yankees #cortes
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) September 25, 2024
Curry pointed out how dominant Cortes has been lately by giving up just one earned run in his last 15.1 innings of work and was projected to be a valuable weapon in the playoffs for the Yanks either as a starter or reliever.
The 29-year-old leads the team with 174.1 innings pitched this season and has a 3.77 ERA across 30 starts, though many expect him to return to the bullpen for the playoffs if he is able to go.
The playoff rotation presumably will be Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil, so Cortes and Marcus Stroman are the odd men out, as has been made clear in recent weeks with both taking turns making appearances out of the bullpen.
This is poor timing and certainly a cause for concern heading into the postseason, and Yankees fans everywhere will be hoping for clean results on Cortes’ MRI.
NEXT: Yankees Make MLB History With Their Home Runs This Season