It was quite a year for Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes. And, in the end, he might not be a Yankees pitcher for much longer.
Cortes put up a record of 9-10 on the season, with a 3.77 ERA in 30 starts, a solid output by any measure. But he had some bumps in the first month of the season, and went into a deeper swoon in July in April—over an eight-start stretch, he was 1-5 with a 6.8 ERA.
He followed that, though, with a very strong closing run starting in mid-August and including one long relief showing. Cortes was 4-0, with a 1.54 ERA and a batting average allowed of just .186 in that span, but had his season cut short when he went onto the disabled list with an elbow injury.
Ah, but his showing on the mound was not the full story of Cortes’ 2024 season. Tension between Cortes and the organization bubbled up multiple times, including when he was put on the trade block by the Yankees ahead of the July 30 deadline and again when he was moved to the bullpen for the one long-relief appearance.
Those tensions could get him dealt out of town, at least as the folks at Bleacher Report see it.
Nestor Cortes Was a Trade Chip at Deadline
In an article titled, “Ranking Top 25 Potential Trade Chips of the 2024-25 MLB Offseason,” Cortes was 18th on the list—maybe not surprising because of the Yankees’ previous interest in moving him.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report writes of the 30-year-old Cortes:
“Cortes saw his name surface in rumors at the 2024 deadline, with the Yankees set to move him if they had landed one of their top targets on the trade market. Between those rumblings and his public disapproval when he was briefly moved to the bullpen in September, it feels like a breakup is coming.
“With a 3.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 162 strikeouts in 174.1 innings, plenty of teams would be interested if he is legitimately shopped.”
Yankees Could Get Good Return for Cortes
There probably would still be a good market for Cortes, who made just under $4 million last year and is arbitration-eligible this year. Spotrac projects that arbitration to yield an $8.3 million contract. Coming off a career-high 30 starts, most teams would willingly add Cortes to their rotations.
After all, we are only two years removed from Cortes landing a spot on the A.L. All-Star team, back when he was 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 2022. Persistent rotator cuff troubles hampered him last year, and despite his consistency this year, he was asked to take on a bullpen role, though only briefly.
He was not happy about that.
“Obviously I was upset,” Cortes said, via ESPN. “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.”
Cortes might well be a valuable mid-rotation workhorse pitcher. But he just might not be that for the Yankees.
