Little went well in 2023 for the New York Yankees, whose World Series aspirations got derailed by injuries to key players and poor hitting. Two of last season’s most significant disappointments were starting pitchers Nestor Cortes Jr. and Carlos Rodon.
At Yankees spring training on Friday, however, MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch shared an encouraging update on Cortes Jr. and Rodon from Cortes Jr. himself.
With the Yankees sending a ton of young pitching to San Diego to acquire slugger Juan Soto from the Padres this winter and only adding Marcus Stroman to the rotation so far, Cortes Jr. and Rodon must be dependable for manager Aaron Boone.
Cortes Jr. had the best season of his career in 2022 after returning to the Yankees as a castoff and establishing himself as a fan favorite in 2021. He made the All-Star Game in 2022 and finished the season with a career high in innings pitched (158.1) and strikeouts (163) and posted a career-low 2.44 ERA in 28 starts.
But “Nasty Nestor” suffered an injured hamstring while training with Team USA for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He recovered in time to make the Opening Day roster and was solid to begin the campaign before missing all of June and July with a left shoulder strain.
He returned for one start in August before returning to the injured list for the remainder of the year.
Meanwhile, Rodon signed a six-year, $162 million contract with New York in the 2023 offseason after two straight All-Star seasons with the White Sox and Giants. But he didn’t make his Yankees debut until July 7 due to a forearm issue, and when he did finally take the mound, the results were disastrous.
After a solid debut in which he allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings, he allowed at least four runs in six of his next 13 starts, with another injured list stint thrown in because of a hamstring strain.
In his final appearance, Rodon didn’t record an out, allowing eight runs on six hits with two walks.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole won his first Cy Young award in 2023, and his production and durability will give fans confidence they’ll get to witness at least one strong starting pitching performance every five games.
But that won’t get the Yankees back to the World Series, which they haven’t played in since 2009.
For the Yankees to compete with the likes of the Dodgers, Braves and Astros for a World Series, Cortes Jr, and Rodon must return to their pre-2023 form. With an entire offseason to rest and rehab, they should.
