Nestor Cortes wasn’t even sure he was going to be on the Yankees’ roster when Spring Training started, but as the story goes, when he asked manager Aaron Boone about his status sometime this spring, the skipper said, “you’re going to be an All-Star.”
A strong spring performance and Domingo German’s injury paved the way for Cortes to open the season as the Yankees’ No. 5 starter – and next week, true to Boone’s word, he’s going to be an All-Star, one of three Yankees pitchers headed to Los Angeles for the Midsummer Classic on July 19.
Even better, he found out from Boone at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon, and like teammate Jose Trevino, Boone hid a camera in his office to catch Cortes’ reaction:
Cortes does indeed deserve it, as even with a couple of hiccups over the last month, the crafty lefty enters his final start of the first half (on Thursday, as Boone said) with a 7-3 record, 2.74 ERA, 1.026 WHIP and 9.6 K/9 in 88 2/3 innings over 16 starts.
“We got bigger fish to fry, but it’s time to go celebrate what you deserve and what you earned next week in L.A.,” Boone told Cortes. “The legend of Nestor Cortes rolls on to Hollywood.”
And after Sunday’s game, the lefty told the media what it means to him:
“We had that conversation in spring training saying that he knows I can be an All-Star this year," Cortes said. "I've never been a part of one, so I don't know what to expect, but the guys that are going, a few of them have gone already, so I think they're gonna make it special, and it's gonna be really cool to participate."
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Cortes was a 36th-round pick in 2013 and actually made his MLB debut with the Orioles as a Rule 5 pick, but now, he’s the seventh pitcher selected in the 36th round or lower to become an All-Star in the common draft era.
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