Nestor Cortes is back in the Yankee rotation, earning the spot over Marcus Stroman, who was moved to the bullpen during a four-game series against the Red Sox.
When asked about his return to the rotation, the crafty lefty took a different tune than when he spoke with reporters after being bumped to the pen a week earlier.
“As far as deserve, no. I’m just trying to go out there and throw as many zeroes as I can,” Cortes said. "I know last week I might've came off like I was asking for too much, but I got my point across and at the end of the day I'm going to do whatever this team needs for me to do to win.”
It was the kind of answer that comes with time and reflection. When initially moved into a relief role, Cortes didn’t hide his frustration with the decision, pointing to Opening Day when he took the ball for an injured Gerrit Cole, while others were kept in their normal routines.
“Now they do this,” Cortes has said after coming on in relief to silence the Cubs over 4.1 hitless innings to lock down a 2-0 Yankee victory.
Fast forward a week, and a reflective Cortes told Rob Bradford and the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast that his initial reaction stemmed from memories of his early career, when pitching was about fighting to keep a dream alive of making it to the majors, and having the chance to showcase his ability.
“Part of the reason I was upset was because I did piggyback in the minor leagues, and the guy in front of me was always a prospect,” Cortes said. “I was in the rotation because they trusted me to pitch every five days, but every time a guy got called up to pitch or demoted to pitch, I was always the piggyback guy.
“I’ve done enough this year to be a workhorse. I’ve done enough to prove I could do it every five days. Why me? That was basically my question. Why me?”
The comments by Cortes after his relief appearance drew heavy criticism from some vocal corners of the Yankee fanbase, but inside the clubhouse, manager Aaron Boone and teammates didn’t seem to hold anything against Cortes. Perhaps they know Cortes’ path to the starting rotation, coming from a rule 5 draft pick to being traded for “future considerations,” only to be let go and picked up again by the Yanks, where he suddenly became an All-Star in 2022 and has posted a very respectable 3.48 ERA across the last three seasons. Perhaps Cortes, having cemented himself as a reliable arm for nearly three years, believed the days of fighting for starts was behind him, and the move to the bullpen brought up memories that he thought wouldn’t have to be relived again in his pitching career.
“You could have made a case for anybody. It could have been anybody,” Cortes said. “But just for myself, it was like, ‘why me?’ that’s why I was a little pissed off about it. it just brought back memories of me being in the minor leagues. That’s kind of why it led to the comments that I made and the pissy attitude I had.”
After Cortes shut down Chicago, he decided to take on a different mindset, and embrace the fight to stay where he felt he belonged. Sure, he thought those days were over, but if they weren’t, why not take back the same mindset that molded him into a most improbable All-Star?
“After I proved it in Wrigley, it was like, ‘Dude, why are you complaining?’” Cortes said. “’You could do either or.’”
Cortes proved that, and once he returned to the rotation after his lone relief appearance of the season, he showed off his versatility with five solid innings of one-run ball in a 2-1 Yankee win. It continued a stretch of 34 innings where Cortes has allowed just seven runs, and dropped his season ERA to 3.90. it is another respectable season that Cortes hopes continues, and ends, in the starting rotation, but if not, he has plenty of experience to fall back on should an adjustment be necessary, even it isn’t ideal.
“As far as money and getting contracts...you do want to start. You want to make as many starts as possible. That’s what gets you paid,” Cortes said.
“I have 29 starts. It’s a full season,” Cortes said. “Regardless of what happens form here on out, I already have a full season under my belt. Obviously I want to keep pitching and I want to pitch in the playoffs, but I told myself, ‘If they put me in the bullpen, who cares?’ I’ve already made 29 starts. I’ve had a solid season. I wouldn’t say it’s my best season, but I would say it’s up there with a durable, above-average season.”
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