The New York Yankees have bolstered their pitching staff, as they have added a former All-Star to their World Series roster. Left-hander Nestor Cortes is back after missing the ALDS and ALCS with a flexor strain in his pitching arm.
Cortes suffered the injury in late September as the regular season was winding down.
Cortes, who was an All-Star in 2022, made 30 starts in the regular season. He threw 174 1/3 innings, punching out 162, and walking 39. Cortes gave up 73 earned runs, 24 home runs, and pitched to a 3.77 ERA, and 109 ERA+.
Cortes will most likely come out of the bullpen to face Los Angeles Dodgers’ left-handed hitters in Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy.
However, Cortes stirred a bit of controversy in early September when he told reporters he was “upset” about being demoted to the bullpen. He made a relief appearance against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 7, allowing no hits over 4 1/3 innings.
“Obviously I was upset,” Cortes said at the time, via ESPN.com. “I felt like I’ve been, amongst all the starters, the workhorse here. Once Cole went down, they picked me to be the Opening Day starter — not necessarily the No. 1, but the Opening Day starter. I had to switch my routine there.
“Now they do this.”
With Cortes, the Yankees will be carrying 13 pitchers.
Related: MLB insider addresses New York Yankees rumors regarding Aaron Boone’s hot seat in October
Who did Nestor Cortes replace on the New York Yankees’ World Series roster?
Cortes replaced infielder Jon Berti on the World Series Roster.
Across four games in the ALDS and ALCS, Berti went 2-for-11, with one walk.
The Yankees’ World Series roster breaks down like this:
PITCHERS (13)
Gerrit Cole
Nestor Cortes
Jake Cousins
Luis Gil
Tim Hill
Clay Holmes
Tommy Kahnle
Mark Leiter Jr.
Tim Mayza
Carlos Rodón
Clarke Schmidt
Marcus Stroman
Luke Weaver
CATCHERS (2)
Jose Trevino
Austin Wells
INFIELDERS (3)
Anthony Rizzo
Gleyber Torres
Anthony Volpe
OUTFIELDERS (6)
Jasson Domínguez
Trent Grisham
Aaron Judge
Juan Soto
Giancarlo Stanton
Alex Verdugo
UTILITY (2)
Oswaldo Cabrera
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Our 2024 #WorldSeries Roster. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/3WSe77iSRx
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 25, 2024
Game 1 of the World Series between the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers takes place Friday night at 8:08 p.m. ET.
Related: 10 questions facing New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers heading into World Series
