Nestor Cortes started the season with a rock-solid 3.09 ERA over his first four starts, but in his next four, capped off by Saturday’s rough outing against the Rays, the lefty holds an ERA of 8.53.
After grinding his way through five innings against the pitiful A’s earlier in the week, Cortes was shelled by Tampa on Saturday afternoon, allowing six runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings of work. For a rotation still without Luis Severino, Carlos Rodon, and Frankie Montas, BT says Cortes’ recent slide should be a big worry for the Yankees.
“It’s one thing for Clarke Schmidt to get roasted,” BT said. “Nestor Cortes’ ERA, one more bad start, it’s 6.00.
“This is a big problem here. To me, this is not just ‘He’s going through a bit of a bad stretch.’ Eighteen earned runs in the last 19 innings? If this keeps up, forget the Nasty Nestor wiggle that he does, he’s gonna need to do somersaults on the mound to get guys out.”
Cortes was one of the brightest stories of the 2022 season, earning an All-Star nod after an improbable rise to become one of the most effective starters in baseball. But, if Cortes is regressing back to the level that led the Yanks to let him go after the 2019 season, then New York would have a massive issue.
“Now, if Gerrit Cole is not perfect, which he hasn’t been the last couple times out…even with these guys hitting now, the starting pitching is a problem,” BT said. “It is a big one.”
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