Yankees’ left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes is selected for national duty in the World Baseball Classic next spring. This cements his position as one of the USA’s best players following a revival of his pitching career during the 2022 season.
MLB announced on Tuesday that the Yankees’ lefty will play for Team USA, which will compete with 20 other teams for international honors.
Nestor Cortes is included in the US baseball team’s bullpen, which has right-hander Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Merrill Kelly of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The three-pitcher rotation may require Cortes to throw more often, as he is in great form, perhaps, at the height of his career that led to the popularity of the Nasty Nestor legend. Pete Alonso, the first baseman for the Mets, will also be on the team. Others on Team US include Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Paul Goldschmidt, and Nolan Arenado.
The 2023 WBC will start pool play on March 8 and hold the championship on March 21. This means that Nestor Cortes will have to leave spring training for national duty. If Cortes pitches in the tournament, he might also have to do more innings than usual.
Nestor Cortes, who is 27 years old, threw a career-high 158 1/3 innings this season. He also had a 2.44 earned run average and was named an All-Star for the American League. The Yankees picked him up in the 36th round, and he finished eighth in the AL Cy Young Award voting. He got three fifth-place votes.
Nestor Cortes’ last start of the year was cut short when he had to leave Game 4 of the ALCS because the groin strain he had earlier in the season was getting worse. Currently staying in Hialeah, Florida, Cortes was born in Cuba. But he moved to the United States when he was 7 months old. The Baseball Federation of Cuba does not include players who left the country in its player pool for national team rosters.
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