Yankees: Nestor Cortes bringing much-needed stability to rotation

One start into the 2022 MLB season and it’s clear that the New York Yankees have found a diamond in the rough to fill in the back end of their starting rotation in Nestor Cortes.

The soft-throwing southpaw stymied the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night, limiting their stellar lineup to just three hits in 4.1 innings. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out five batters before being lifted after 72 pitches. The New York Yankees went on to defeat the Blue Jays 4-0, ending their two-game losing streak and putting them back above .500 on the season.

"“[Cortes] was terrific,” manager Aaron Boone told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce after the game. “Against that offense, it’s a load and he was in total control. … Overall, just a really strong start to the season for Nestor.”"

Cortes’ performance against the Jays’ is nothing new. He emerged as a consistent starter for the Yankees in 2021, seemingly coming out of nowhere. A former Yankees 36th-round draft pick, he made his Major League debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018, before spending part of 2019 with the Yankees and 2020 with the Mariners, with underwhelming results.

Nestor Cortes returned to the New York Yankees in 2021 and something clicked.

Cortes split time between the starting rotation and in the bullpen as a swingman. It wasn’t long before he earned a permanent spot in the rotation — a spot he has not relinquished since.

In 22 games and 14 starts last season, Cortes pitched to a 2-3 record, but posted a 2.90 ERA in 93 innings. He struck out 103 batters in those 93 innings against just 25 walks, giving him a WHIP of 1.08. Had he tossed enough innings to qualify, that would’ve ranked fourth in the American League, behind Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray (1.045), teammate Gerrit Cole (1.059) and Jose Berrios (1.063) and ahead of Cy Young candidate Lucas Giolito.

His performance helped the Yankees secure a Wild Card spot last year and his continued success will play a huge role in the team’s quest to win the American League East for the first time since 2019.

He doesn’t light up the radar gun — his fastball sits around 90-93 MPH — but he uses a deep arsenal of pitches and mixes up his delivery to keep hitters off balance. Given the Yankees’ power arms of Cole, Luis Severino, and Jameson Taillon, Cortes’ approach brings some diversity to the rotation.

Cortes became a favorite among his teammates and Yankees fans during his emergence for his infectious personality. He is also responsible for bringing the Yankees rally pet Bronxie the turtle into the fold last year. Cortes adopted the beloved turtle, who became the team pet during the latter part of the season.

While Bronxie has since moved on to live at a senior center near Yankee Stadium, Cortes’ influence on the team is as strong as ever.

With the Yankees rotation filled with question marks behind Cole, Cortes has become arguably the Yankees’ second-most consistent starter. Time will tell if he can keep it up, but for now, the Yankees and their fans should enjoy the Nestor Cortes show.