LOS ANGELES — Nestor Cortes got his wish.
The Yankees added the left-hander to their World Series roster before Game 1 on Friday. Cortes went on the injured list with a flexor strain in his left elbow on Sept. 25, but he and the team believe the pitcher is ready to go after an expedited throwing program.
“To be honest, no,” Cortes said before Game 1 when asked if he thought he’d pitch again this year. “Given that it was so late in the season, obviously with the left flexor strain, those are tough to come back, but we never gave up on it.”
The question now is how — and how much — will the Yankees use Cortes with him coming back so soon from an injury that can be a precursor to Tommy John surgery?
Cortes will pitch in relief after being a starter all season. The southpaw gives the Yankees an additional weapon against the Dodgers’ formidable left-handed hitters, namely Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy.
“It’s definitely going to be a tough task,” Cortes said before referring to Ohtani. “Obviously, we’re talking about one of the best hitters in baseball in that lineup. But I think it’s not uncharted territory for me to face lefties and get them out.”
Ohtani is 2-for-12 with zero extra-base hits in his career against Cortes, who noted that he’ll use his deep bag of quirky tricks to keep the Japanese superstar off balance.
As for his workload, Cortes said that he can give an inning or two ups, depending on the situation. For example, he could come in for the final out of an inning against a lefty before returning for a new frame.
Cortes added that he’s “ready for whatever’s needed.”
Meanwhile, Aaron Boone said that Cortes “could find himself in the biggest spot.”
But Boone also said it’s too soon to know if Cortes can pitch on back-to-back days.
“I don’t know,” the manager said. “I don’t view him necessarily for length or anything like that. He’s one of the guys down there that I feel like can get big outs. So we’ll see, and then we’ll see how he bounces back and kind of recovers each day.”
While the Yankees are happy to have Cortes back — and believe he can contribute in a big way — they’ll also have to monitor how he’s feeling and how much he’s throwing to avoid a more serious injury.
“There’s some risk to it,” Boone acknowledged, “so I want to make sure that as much as I can, I protect him.”
LESS JAZZ IS MORE
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s first postseason with the Yankees hasn’t gone well, as he entered the World Series with a .147/.216/.265 slash line, one home run and one RBI.
With the ultra-confident third baseman having high expectations for himself, Boone said doing less could help Chisholm out on baseball’s biggest stage.
“He always expects to do so well,” Boone said. “So when he doesn’t, he has a few days where he doesn’t have great at-bats or whatever, he’s a little surprised, probably caught off guard a little bit. Biggest thing with him is less is more in these situations, especially as talented as he is.
“He has one good at-bat, and he’s the guy that has that capability of taking over a little bit with his power and his speed. But right now, just want him to kind of think less is more, focus pitch to pitch, have a good at-bat, and not worry about taking over the game, so to speak.”
LEGENDS IN LA
Boone said that he talked to his team Wednesday before leaving for Los Angeles, but he didn’t want to share his message.
Boone also said that Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada talked to the Yankees at Old-Timers’ Day a few weeks back. Boone added that he texted with Jeter on Thursday.
Rodriguez and Jeter are in L.A. for their broadcasting gigs on Fox. Jeter met with Aaron Judge before Game 1, creating a union between past and present Yankees captains.
A few other former Yankees were at Dodger Stadium, including Nick Swisher, Dellin Betances, Dave Winfield and Raul Ibanez.
