PHILADELPHIA — For 10 months, Nestor Cortes has spent this season on the outside of the game he once starred in, rebuilding an arm that betrayed him and waiting for a team to bet on him again.
The former Yankees All-Star had been off a big league mound all year. He threw for scouts, posted a video of himself throwing off a mound and let the market come to him. Several clubs looked. A team in the American League East kicked the tires. The Yankees themselves had been floated as a possible landing spot for bullpen help.
In the end, Cortes made a choice that carried a distinct pinstriped irony. He passed on a return to the AL East and signed with a National League contender instead.
Cortes signs with the Phillies
Nestor Cortes’s new home is Philadelphia. The Phillies signed the former Yankees All-Star to a major league contract.
The terms of the contract were not disclosed. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the Phillies designated right-hander Brian Keller for assignment.
Cortes will not join the rotation right away. He is set to begin his buildup with Single-A Clearwater as he works back from left arm surgery last October to repair a small tendon tear.
The move connects him to a manager steeped in Yankees history. Don Mattingly, the six-time All-Star who played his entire career in pinstripes and later coached in the Bronx, is the Phillies’ interim manager. He took over on April 28 after the club fired Rob Thomson.
A Red Sox pursuit that fell short
The signing stung more than one rival. The Boston Red Sox were in the mix before the Phillies closed the deal, according to the report that first surfaced the talks.
Boston has a habit of adding ex-Yankees, which made the near-miss notable. Landing Cortes would have given the Red Sox another familiar face from the rivalry, but he went elsewhere. Incidentally, Cortes had a good record against the Boston team while playing in the pinstripes.
The Yankees, for their part, had been mentioned as a logical fit given their need for arms. New York has leaned heavily on its bullpen through a rotation battered by injuries, and a healthy Cortes once thrived in that clubhouse.
Instead, a pitcher the Yankees developed will try to revive his career for a team chasing October in the other league.
Why the Bronx fell for Cortes
Few recent Yankees connected with the fan base the way Cortes did. He was not a prized prospect or a big-money signing. He was a 36th-round pick who was once let go, claimed on waivers and sent back to the minors before he forced his way into the rotation.
That underdog path made him easy to root for. Yankees fans saw a pitcher who clawed for every inning, and they embraced him as one of their own rather than a manufactured star.
His style sealed the bond. The Hialeah, Florida, native leaned on a funky, unpredictable delivery, varying his timing and arm angles to survive without overpowering velocity. He pitched with visible joy, and the Bronx crowd fed off it.
The nickname captured the affection. Fans and teammates called him “Nasty Nestor,” a tag that turned a soft-tossing lefty into a cult figure at the Stadium during his rise.
The performance backed up the persona. Cortes embraced New York, competed deep into games and delivered an All-Star season in 2022, giving the Yankees dependable, entertaining baseball at a bargain price. For many fans, that combination of grit, personality and results is exactly why his exit still stings.
What Cortes gives the Phillies
Philadelphia needed pitching depth. The Phillies did not add a starter at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, even as they sought one in the final hours, leaving a hole behind a rotation of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter.
Cortes offers a flexible answer. In the near term, he could provide bullpen depth as he stretches out. If he returns to form, he could push for a rotation spot or serve as a sixth starter down the stretch.
His track record explains the interest. Cortes was an All-Star for the Yankees in 2022, going 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA, and posted a 2.61 ERA across 50 appearances from 2021 to 2022. He gives Philadelphia upside if his arm cooperates.
The Phillies enter the stretch at 69-58, holding the National League’s second wild card. Cortes gives a contender another arm to sort out as the roster tightens for the playoff race.
The Yankees trade that keeps stinging
Here is the piece that lingers for the Yankees, and it goes beyond Cortes. On Dec. 13, 2024, the club shipped Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee for closer Devin Williams.
Williams gave the Yankees one uneven season before leaving, and he now pitches across town for the Mets. The prospect they surrendered has become the sting.
Durbin landed with the Red Sox and has produced, hitting around .258 with 12 home runs, 62 RBIs and 16 stolen bases this season, per a Yankees-focused account tracking the deal. He recently posted a three-hit, five-RBI game that included a grand slam.
Now Cortes resurfaces with a contender managed by a Yankees icon, while the prospect dealt alongside him thrives for a division rival. For New York, the trade tree keeps bearing fruit for everyone else.
For now, Cortes reports to Clearwater and begins the climb back. His next act plays out in Philadelphia, in another league, under a manager who once defined the position he mastered in the Bronx.
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