Following a 12-2 loss last Monday, rumors circulated that the Yankees might remove Nestor Cortes from the rotation and bench Anthony Volpe. However, the Yankees confirmed both players will be in the lineup against the White Sox tonight.
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone expressed confidence in pitcher Nestor Cortes despite the left-hander’s recent struggles. Cortes, who has posted a 6.86 ERA over his last eight starts, has been under scrutiny as the Yankees push for a postseason berth, Boone said on the “Talkin’ Yanks” show.
Boone defends struggling Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes despite poor recent performance
When asked about the possibility of giving Nestor Cortes extra rest to refine his mechanics, Boone dismissed the idea, stating, “No, not so much with Nestor.” Boone pointed out that Cortes was close to a solid outing in his last start, saying, “Otherwise, he’s five innings, two runs, kind of solid.”
Despite a 6.8 ERA in his recent performances, Boone defended his pitcher, noting, “I feel like it’s coming out right. Certainly made some mistakes in situations that hurt with some runners in scoring position. But I also feel like in a lot of these outings, he’s been very close to being really good.”
Nestor Cortes has struggled in recent games, completing five innings only twice in his last eight starts and allowing five or more runs three times. Over this stretch, he has given up 51 hits, 11 walks, and recorded 38 strikeouts. His advanced metrics, including a FIP of 5.22 and xFIP of 4.65, suggest that while he could have slightly better results, his current performance does not reflect a pitcher on the verge of significant improvement.
This season, Nestor Cortes has posted a 4.42 ERA over 134 1/3 innings. He is set to start against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, a team with the league’s worst offense, following their 12-run outburst in Monday’s win.
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