The New York Yankees traded pitcher Nestor Cortes to the Milwaukee Brewers this offseason in an effort to address their closer situation, and it may have turned out to be a fortunate move.
Cortes, who was acquired by the Brewers in exchange for closer Devin Williams, has now been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a flexor strain in his throwing elbow. To fill his spot, Milwaukee has called up Grant Wolfram from Triple-A.
Yankees fans are already familiar with Cortes and his injury history. He was sidelined by a similar issue last September while with New York but managed to return in time for the postseason, pitching in the World Series, where he gave up a walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1.
Cortes, a left-handed pitcher, made two starts with Milwaukee, posting a 1-1 record and a 9.00 ERA. Over eight innings, he struck out eight batters but walked seven, and he led the league with five home runs allowed before being placed on the IL. All five of those home runs came during a March 29 game against the Yankees, where he started in a 20-9 loss that saw New York set a franchise record with nine home runs.
Brewers’ dugout reporter Sophia Minnaert mentioned that Cortes had an MRI before his second start on Thursday, though he felt well enough to pitch. He plans to seek a second opinion and hopes the injury won’t be a long-term concern.
Cortes joins several other Brewers pitchers on the IL, including Tobias Myers, Aaron Civale, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, Brandon Woodruff, and Robert Gasser.
The Yankees traded Cortes, along with second baseman Caleb Durbin, to Milwaukee on December 13, with the intention of acquiring Devin Williams to solve their closer dilemma.
Cortes, 30, spent five of his first seven MLB seasons with the Yankees after being drafted by them in the 36th round of the 2013 draft. He made his major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018 after being selected in the Rule 5 Draft but was designated for assignment after four appearances.
He later signed with the Yankees, where he had his best season in 2022, posting a 12-4 record with a 2.44 ERA over 28 starts. That year, he made his only All-Star appearance and finished eighth in American League Cy Young voting.
