Former Yankees starter Nestor Cortes' World Series sacrifice just took a dark turn

When New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone inserted Nestor Cortes Jr. in extra innings of Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, he was clearly chasing a redemption narrative. Of course, that desire for a feel-good story was the team's ultimate undoing.

Cortes Jr., in the midst of rebranding himself as a potential October reliever, had suffered a flexor strain in mid-September, and didn't pitch a game between Sept. 18 and the World Series. As is his nature, the former 36th-round pick refused to quit; he'd worked his whole career in hopes of reaching the Fall Classic, and loved being a Yankee. He had no intention of stopping in his tracks, and didn't mind sacrificing the long-term in favor of the short.

Chillingly, Cortes Jr. admitted that he was willing to forego 2025 and beyond if he had to in order to get back on a big-league mound and help the Yankees win a championship. “If I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, then so be it,” he said during the off week before Game 1 of the Series in Los Angeles.

Cortes Jr. beat the odds (of course he did), but was hung out to dry against the best hitters in baseball by Boone, who seemed to believe that certain forces from above would guide his left-hander through a storybook ending. Nasty Nestor did not receive that ring, and, in another cruel twist, may end up sacrificing that year away from baseball anyhow.

The Yankees swapped Cortes Jr. and infield prospect Caleb Durbin for Devin Williams this past December, and the left-hander lasted two starts before succumbing to a flexor strain in his elbow, the same issue that plagued him before the World Series. The recovery was worryingly (perhaps ill-advisedly) swift last time, and now we wait from afar to find out Cortes Jr.'s prognosis for this unfortunate recurrence.

Former Yankees starter Nestor Cortes Jr. of Brewers suffers flexor strain in elbow (after similar strain in Sept. 2024)

Cortes Jr. recovered from his season-opening disaster at Yankee Stadium (three home runs on three pitches to start the madness) by twirling a shutout against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

Now, he'll be held on the shelf for recuperation, while Boone and the Yankees have been given another reason to regret their October rush and rash judgment (as if they needed one).