The Athletic says that the Yankees will put All-Star starting pitcher Nestor Cortes on the injured list before Thursday’s game in Oakland. Cortes hurt his groin. Right-handed reliever Greg Weissert will be brought up from the minor leagues to fill the spot.
Cortes, who is 27 years old, is having a huge breakout season. In 23 starts, he has a 9-4 record, a 2.68 ERA (143 ERA+), a 0.96 WHIP, 133 strikeouts, 33 walks, and a WHIP of 0.96. He has a WAR of 3.4, which puts him in eighth place among AL pitchers.
No one knows yet how long Cortes will be out, but this is a big setback for the Yankees. If nothing else, they don’t have enough depth in their rotations right now.
Gerrit Cole, Domingo Germán, Frankie Montas, and Jameson Taillon remain. Jordan Montgomery was traded to the Cardinals. Luis Severino will miss most of September. Bullpen injuries have compounded the problem.
Schmidt could replace Cortes if the Yankees need multiple starts. This season, he made a big-league start. His other 16 big-league appearances this season have been in relief, but he recently made three minor-league starts (five, six, and 4 2/3 innings) and threw 60 pitches Tuesday against the Mets.
Schmidt was chosen by the Yankees in the first round of the 2017 draft. He has a 2.18 ERA in the major leagues this year and has done well as a starter in Triple-A.
A few days ago, the Yankees were having a terrible August. They were 4-14 and their lead in the AL East, which had been 15 1/2 games, was now only seven games. However, they have now won three straight games and will start a series against the A’s on Thursday.
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