COUNT ME IN!
Nestor says he expects to be ready for regular season after rehabbing shoulder in offseason
TAMPA — Like so many Yankees, Nestor Cortes had his 2023 season derailed by injuries.
He initially entered spring training with a hamstring strain. Then came two in-season trips to the injured list, courtesy of rotator cuff strains. The first forced the lefty to miss all of June and July. The second came after Cortes returned for one August start against the Astros.
Just like that, his season was over, and thoughts of shoulder surgery crept into his mind. However, multiple doctors simply recommended rehab — albeit one less rushed than what Cortes did during the year.
“I wasn’t getting any better, and I was a little scared,” Cortes said Friday. “So I asked for second and third opinions and finally said that I didn’t need surgery. So I trusted the process, worked my tail off with the shoulder, trying to get as strong as possible, and I’ve felt good ever since.”
While Cortes feels fine now, it took some time for him to get there.
The 29-year-old threw two bullpens last October before shutting down for all of November. He then started a throwing program on Dec. 3, but he didn’t feel like he was making any progress after about 10-15 days. That’s when he moved his rehab to the Yankees’ complex in Tampa, where the team’s training staff helped him “get over the hump.”
“It worked out great,” Cortes said. He added, “I should be ready to go for the season.”
Cortes said that the Yankees’ personnel were “careful” not to “push me to the limit.” His rehab involved lots of shoulder stretching, weights and dumbbells. He’s on a normal schedule and building up as planned, though he expects the Yankees to give him — and the rest of the pitching staff — some extra days of rest this spring.
“I’m following the schedule they’re giving me and I’m good with it,” Cortes said. “I’m on board with it.”
His velocity is at 90-93 mph, which is where he wants it to be this time of year.
The Yankees are counting on Cortes, among others, returning to form this season.
An All-Star in 2022, he wasn’t very effective on the rare occasions he pitched last year. Cortes had a 4.97 ERA over 12 starts.
He blamed the down year on his injuries, and he’s confident he can get back to being the pitcher that had a 2.61 ERA from 2021-2022.
“Once I’m healthy, once I feel everything is right, I can be as good as anybody,” Cortes said. “That’s kind of my mentality.”
Last year, Cortes often struggled as he went deeper in games. He had a 10.80 ERA in the fifth frame and a 14.54 mark in the sixth inning. He blamed that particular issue on his hamstring injury, which prevented him from ramping up properly in spring training.
“I was always behind the eight ball,” Cortes said.
The crafty hurler’s shoulder also had trouble recovering between starts and throwing sessions last year, which led to the first IL stint. He said it’s too soon to know if that is still an issue, as he’s yet to throw more than two innings.
“As the volume and the workload starts building up, we should see how I recover,” Cortes said. “But as of now, I’ve thrown four lives. Everything feels great. No issue. No extra day because I’m too sore. No issues at all.”
Cortes is lined up to pitch in one of the Yankees’ exhibition games in Mexico City at the end of spring training. But he wants to make sure he’s recovering properly before committing to one of those games.
As other Yankees have noted, Cortes was hardly the only player who reported to camp early. The team’s minor league complex received lots of traffic during the offseason, a sign that the team is determined to put 2023 in the rearview after missing the playoffs.
“It was impressive to see how many guys were there at the complex in early January,” said Cortes, who had previously never come to camp earlier than two weeks in advance. “I know some guys live here, but still, you gotta make an effort to come in, even if you live in the area. And a lot of guys did that.
“It was a good vibe to see how many people poured in to potentially help this season.”