Yankees' Nestor Cortes heading to IL with groin injury: report
Cortes leads the Yankees' rotation this season with a 2.68 ERA
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The New York Yankees’ best starter this season, Nestor Cortes, is reportedly heading to the injured list with a groin injury, according to multiple media outlets.
This is the last thing the Bronx Bombers wanted to see, as Cortes is currently enjoying the best year of his career to date in the big leagues, earning his first All-Star appearance and producing consistent starts each time out.
There’s no word on how long Cortes will be unavailable.
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Nestor Cortes of the New York Yankees pitches in the second inning during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 24, 2022. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
The 27-year-old leads the Yankees’ starting rotation with a 2.68 ERA over 131 innings in 23 starts this season. It’s easily the biggest workload he’s had to endure in his career to this point, surpassing the 93 innings he pitched last season when the Yankees picked him up.
Cortes showed no signs of injury or struggle in his last outing against the Toronto Blue Jays, tossing 103 pitches over six innings and allowing one run.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes faces the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston on July 8, 2022. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Now it will be up to the rest of the rotation — Gerrit Cole, Frankie Montas, Domingo German and Jameson Taillon — to pick up the slack. The Yankees are reportedly calling up Greg Weissert from the minor leagues to fill Cortes’ spot on the roster, but that doesn’t fill the need at starter.
Perhaps Clarke Schmidt, whom the Yankees kept out on the mound for several innings on 60 pitches against the New York Mets on Tuesday night, will assume Cortes’ role in the rotation for the time being. Schmidt has a 2.18 ERA with the Yankees so far this year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cortes will join Luis Severino on the IL, as he is likely out until late September. General manager Brian Cashman did say, however, that he expects Severino to return in time during the regular season to prepare for postseason play.
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Injuries in the bullpen, like Michael King and Chad Green being out for the season as well as Miguel Castro on the 60-day IL, have caused Yankees manager Aaron Boone to run through multiple options.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nestor Cortes of the New York Yankees reacts in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium in New York on June 15, 2022. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
This news on Cortes comes as the Yankees seemed to have found some life after an awful 4-14 stretch this month, winning their last three games. The team now heads west to face the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels over their next seven contests.
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But they will do so without one of their most reliable pitchers.