NEW YORK — Nestor Cortes knows there's a long-term injury risk if he pitches in the World Series just one month after being diagnosed with a flexor strain, often a precursor to a serious elbow injury.
Pitching could cost Cortes, a free agent after next season, millions of dollars. But he expects to be on the New York Yankees' World Series roster for Game 1 on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It's a risk — after conversations with team officials, trainers, his agents and his family — that he's willing to take. «We have weighed in the consequences this can lead up to,» Cortes said, «but if I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, then so be it.» The odds were against Cortes pitching again in 2024 when he was placed on the injured list less than a month ago.
It would've taken the Yankees reaching the World Series to give him enough time. Even then, though, chances were low. But the 29-year-old Cortes was determined.