Yankees blindside fans with Nestor Cortes injury as 2023 continues to spiral

Only the New York Yankees could build a "super rotation" only for it to fall apart before it even gets to debut. First, it was Frankie Montas going down for the year. Then came Carlos Rodón. Then Luis Severino. At that point, it was over.

We'll spare you the details about the returns of Rodón and Severino as we shift to the still-evolving (or devolving?) situation with Cortes, who hit the 60-day injured list a little over two months ago and finally returned last weekend to put up a promising outing against the Houston Astros.

But his road to recovery is already over, too. On Friday, the Yankees hit fans with a classic news dump, announcing Cortes has hit the 15-day injured list with a strained left rotator cuff. Both Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez have been recalled for reinforcements.

Cortes was slotted to pitch Saturday against the Miami Marlins, but at this rate it feels like we'd be lucky to see him again before September (are we SURE this will only be 15 days?).

As the Yankees continue to stumble and take hit after hit on the injury front, it's worth wondering if this season was far gone a month ago when it felt like the beginning of the end.

Yankees blindside fans with Nestor Cortes injury as 2023 continues to spiral

What a bummer, too. Cortes rooted for the Marlins growing up in South Florida and was ready for his first ever start in Miami. The Yankees can't even hammer down one feel-good narrative.

Cortes returning last week was a dire reinforcement after Domingo Germán's exile, Severino's terrible play, and, later on, Rodón's return to the injured list. Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt badly needed support in the rotation, and Cortes in the fold as the Yankees weathered yet another storm of regression/injuries/off-field concerns felt like a saving grace for the team's thin playoff chances.

This is not the manner in which fans wanted to see Vásquez get more starts. And depending on what's next for Severino, the Yankees are about to sub in two rookies for two veterans who were expected to be their mid-rotation glue.

Did we mention the lineup can't score runs? See you in the offseason.