The Yankees announced Thursday that lefty Nestor Cortes has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a strained left rotator cuff. That move is retroactive to June 5. Fellow lefty Matt Krook has been recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in his place.
Manager Aaron Boone had already suggested earlier in the week that Cortes was likely to be placed on the injured list due to a shoulder strain, so today’s announcement shouldn’t come as a surprise. Boone noted at the time that Cortes has been having difficulty recovering between his starts due to ongoing discomfort in his shoulder. He underwent an MRI this week to determine the severity of the issue, though this is the first time the Yankees have formally disclosed his diagnosis. A concrete timeline has not been provided since Cortes underwent imaging.
Cortes has struggled this season, following up on his 2021-22 breakout with 59 1/3 frames of 5.16 ERA ball. His velocity hasn’t dropped off, but Cortes’s 23.4% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate are both noticeably worse than his respective 26.9% and 6.4% marks from 2021-22. He’s also seen his ground-ball rate, home-run rate, opponents’ chase rate, swinging-strike rate and average exit velocity all trend in the wrong direction.
Cortes has generally pitched well the first and second time through the batting order, holding opponents to a terrible .176/.242/.264 batting line on the first trip and an only marginally better .231/.286/.341 slash the second time around. He’s been utterly demolished by opponents when turning the lineup over for a third time, however: .447/.500/1.021 in 54 plate appearances. That marks a radical departure from 2022, when Cortes held opponents to a .189/.243/.283 batting line when facing them a third time.
With Cortes’ shoulder issue, the Yankees now have 60% of what they hoped would be their Opening Day rotation on the injured list. Neither Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) nor Carlos Rodon (forearm strain, lower back injury) have thrown a pitch this season. Ace Gerrit Cole has been one of the best pitchers in baseball, while Domingo German has had a solid year (albeit a controversial one, including a 10-game ban for foreign substance usage).
The rest of the staff has been unable to pick up the slack. Clarke Schmidt is second on the team in innings pitched, but his 4.96 ERA isn’t exactly an impressive mark. He’s been solid over his past four turns, but the nine prior starts were fairly ugly. Rookie Jhony Brito has routinely been hit hard, evidenced by a 6.17 ERA in 35 frames. Luis Severino’s return brought a much-needed influx of talent, and he’s given the Yankees a pair of good outings but one painful clunker at Dodger Stadium. Severino will get a chance to bounce back in the first game of today’s twin bill, while rookie Randy Vasquez will make his second start of the season in the the second game.
Does Cortes still do that gimmicky windup since the inception of the pitch clock?
He’s been pitching with this strain all season, probably making it worse. It explains his drop in velocity and effectiveness after four to five innings. Hopefully rest addresses this as he’s fun to watch. Probably means he’s out at least a month.
I wonder if they knew and let him pitch anyway, I wouldn’t doubt it since he doesn’t cost any money, or he just withheld his injury from the front office, as players tend to do.
Sure. They intentionally overwork their #2 pitcher who was voted to the All-Stars last season, because he’s got a low salary.
It wouldn’t be the first time.
Some serious $ on the injured list, and some serious mistakes in front-office judgment.
I only miss Chris Berman for cases like this. Matt “I am not a” Krook.
I hate this for Cortes. He’s lights out the first two times through the order. I hope that means it’s fixable because his mechanics are all there, sonic they can fix his rotator cuff…
I don’t wish bad on any mlb player I just want to make a note that for some reason a shoulder injury usually ends pitchers career. Hope I’m wrong but I can’t think of a pitcher who came back at the same level after a shoulder injury.
This guy was just coming back to. I have a feeling the organization or himself fought through it to keep the team hopefully pushing through. Probably would have been better to shut him down early for a short stint and stay healthy. The starting pitcher injuries this year seems crazy all over. Not sure if its more or bigger names are having more issues but it definitely seems like more.