Nestor Cortes skilled a surreal second on Opening Day.
Now a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Cortes realized he didn’t know the way to get to the guests clubhouse at Yankee Stadium, which he referred to as residence for elements of 5 MLB seasons, together with every of the final 4.
His confusion was comprehensible, contemplating Thursday marked Cortes’ first time again on the stadium because the Yankees traded him to Milwaukee lower than 4 months in the past.
“Once we landed and bussed into the city, it brought back some good memories,” Cortes stated. “I miss it a little, but everything’s good.”
The left-handed Cortes is ready to start out Saturday afternoon in opposition to his former crew, which despatched him to the Brewers together with infield prospect Caleb Durbin for nearer Devin Williams in December.
The commerce didn’t shock Cortes, who was conscious that the Yankees’ signing of Max Fried gave them a starting-pitching surplus that additionally included Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman.
“I wouldn’t say surprised,” stated Cortes, who now sports activities platinum hair with a touch of purple.
“I knew something had to be done. I didn’t know if I was involved in it, but I knew something had to be done. We had a lot of starters, and the team had a lot of needs.”
Cortes was celebrating his thirtieth birthday in Las Vegas when the commerce went down. He realized one thing was taking place when he observed quite a few missed calls, together with ones from Yankees basic supervisor Brian Cashman and supervisor Aaron Boone.
The Yankees drafted Cortes within the thirty sixth spherical of the 2013 MLB Draft, nevertheless it wasn’t till his third stint with the group that he lastly caught.
He pitched to a 3.33 ERA over 93 video games, together with 84 begins, with the Yankees from 2021-24, incomes an All-Star choice in 2022.
Cortes missed about 5 weeks in September and October with a left elbow flexor pressure, however he labored his manner again in time to return as a reliever on the Yankees’ World Collection roster.
He suffered the loss in Recreation 1 of that collection when he surrendered a walk-off grand slam to Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman, then pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in Recreation 3 in what proved to be his closing look as a Yankee.
The Dodgers received the collection in 5 video games.
“The way it ended, it’s gonna be something that not only them but myself have to live with,” Cortes stated.
“Obviously, it didn’t go the way that we wanted it to, but overall, the four-and-a-half years that I was in the big leagues with the Yankees, I can take a lot of positives. Thinking back on how my career there was, they watched me grow up. I became who I became with the Yankees.”
Cortes nonetheless has a vested curiosity within the Yankees.
His childhood buddy, catcher J.C. Escarra, made the Yankees’ Opening Day roster, capping a protracted journey that included taking part in 5 seasons within the minors; others within the American Affiliation, the Atlantic League and in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Dominican Republic; and even working as an Uber driver and substitute instructor.
Escarra and Cortes are each from Hialeah, Fla., although they attended completely different excessive faculties. They each hung out within the Orioles group in 2018.
“Me and Nestor are very, very close,” Escarra stated Thursday.
“I grew up with him since we were four years old, playing against each other, with each other, Little League, travel ball teams. I’m good friends with his family. [He’s friends with] my family. For both of us, we wish that we were on the same team, but to be playing against each other today, it means the world.”
When Escarra, 29, seems in his first sport, it’s going to mark his MLB debut.
That might come in opposition to Cortes.
“He said he wanted a fastball, first pitch,” Cortes stated. “I said if he got a base hit, he better get picked off at first base.”
Whether or not Escarra is within the lineup or not, Cortes is able to face the Yankees, who’re set to ship Fried to the mound Saturday for his crew debut.
“Excited about the opportunity,” Cortes stated. “Excited to face those guys, see where I match up against them.”
