Every winter, every organization in baseball signs a bunch of free agents to minor league deals, mostly in hopes of getting a bullpen or bench piece on the cheap or giving a veteran a chance to fight for a roster spot during Spring Training. Finding a true diamond in the rough through this process is extremely rare, but it happened to the Yankees four years ago to the day they officially signed the lefty. Nestor Cortes in a minor league deal. At the time, the southpaw was just one month removed from his 26th birthday and had a career 6.72 ERA in 79 innings of work at the big league level. Despite the rough start to Cortes’ MLB career, the Yankees’ decision to bring him in deep into the 2021 season proved to be one of the most fruitful minor league signings in recent memory.
The team knew Cortes well when they signed him to a contract, as it was actually the lefty’s third time in the Bronx. Originally drafted by the club in the 36th round of the 2013 draft, Cortes was waived by the club in the 2017 Rule 5 draft by the Orioles, but was brought back a few months later. He then threw 66 2/3 innings for the Yankees in his rookie season in 2019, though he struggled to a 5.67 ERA and found himself traded to the Mariners in November. Cortes made just five appearances in Seattle before opting for major league free agency and returning to the Yankees before the 2021 season.
Lefty’s return to the Bronx wouldn’t last until mid-May, when he was added to the team’s roster as a versatile relief option out of the bullpen. Cortes’ first appearance of the year came on May 30 against the Tigers, and he went undefeated with two runs (one earned) allowed in 3 2/3 innings of work in which he struck out three, gave up three hits and walked four. Throughout the month of June, however, Cortes seemed to be in complete control. He pitched to a career-low 0.64 ERA in six appearances (14 innings) that month and struck out 42.3% of opponents.
That overwhelming success earned Cortes a spot in the starting rotation when the calendar turned to July, and he was able to hold onto that spot in the Yankees’ rotation for the rest of the season. In 14 starts during the second half of the season, Cortes pitched to an impressive 3.07 ERA in 73 1/3 innings of work and struck out a respectable 25.4% of his opponents. His emergence has helped the Yankees deal with weather injuries Corey Kluber, Luis Gilagain Domingo German that checked their starting depth all season. While Cortes did not participate in the postseason that year as the Yankees fell to the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card game, he entered 2022 as a solid starter.
It has been a busy year for the left. Cortes was among the best pitchers in the sport in 2022, earning his first (and so far, only) All-Star appearance and finishing in the top 10 of AL Cy Young voting that year. Although his 158 1/3 innings were not enough to qualify for the ERA title, he did make a respectable 28 starts and his 2.44 ERA was the seventh lowest in the majors among pitchers with at least 150 innings pitched. and left him. combined in the middle Shohei Ohtani again Fried Max on that year’s leaderboard. His 26.5% strikeout rate, 3.13 FIP, and 3.7 fWAR all rank in the top 20 on that team as well. A season to remember saw Cortes go on to make three key postseason starts for the Yankees in October. He went two times against Guardian with a 2.70 ERA in ten innings but ended up on the mound for the Yankees’ final game of the season, when the Astros completed a sweep of the Bombers in Game 4 of the ALCS.
After Cortes’ breakout year in 2022, the lefty saw his production decline slightly. 2023 was something of a lost season for Cortes, as he made just 12 starts due to rotator cuff strains and struggled to a below-average 4.97 ERA when he was healthy enough to take the mound. 2024 was a step in the right direction for the lefty as he was healthy most of the year, but his results paled in comparison to those of his first two years back at Yankee Stadium. In 174 1/3 innings of work for the Yankees last year, he pitched to a 3.77 ERA (109 ERA+) with a 3.84 FIP but struggled in the second half with a 4.41 ERA over his last 12 games.
Still, that’s a solid back-to-back product rotation and has been a concern for the club’s depth when late-season turnovers appear to threaten Cortes’ final season in late September. Lefty returned to the fold during the team’s World Series run against the Yankees, though some fans may wish he hadn’t after giving up the big shot. Freddie Freeman in the tenth inning of Game 1. Cortes went on to throw 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in Game 3, but had little impact throughout the series as the Yankees dropped the series to the Dodgers in five games.
New York traded Cortes for the second time last month as they packed in an infield prospect Caleb Durbin and money considerations to get the star Brewers closer Devin Williams. At least for now, that trade ended Cortes’ long story for the Yankees. With Cortes entering his age-30 season and one year left in free agency, it’s anyone’s guess whether he’ll find himself back in the Bronx at some point before his career ends, but he leaves New York as one of the players. the club’s most important players in recent years.
Over the past four seasons, the lefty has pitched to a 3.33 ERA in 489 career innings in 93 appearances (84 starts) while striking out 25.2% of his opponents. It’s a game worth 9.4 fWAR and 10.3 bWAR, and in 2025 the decision to bring Cortes back into the equation is the gift that keeps on giving now that Williams and his 1.83 career ERA will spend his final year before free agency. closing games in the Bronx. Getting that level of production from a mid-20s major league signee with a career ERA north of 6.00 is something any club can be excited about, and the result stands as a clear victory for Brian Cashman’s front office.
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