Nestor Cortes injury update: Yankees starter lands on IL with elbow flexor strain amid pivotal playoff push

The New York Yankees are on the verge of clinching the AL East, though they received worrisome news about one of their starting pitchers Wednesday. Left-hander Nestor Cortes, Wednesday’s scheduled starter, was placed on the 15-day injured list with a flexor strain, the team announced. He went for an MRI earlier in the day, reports the YES Network.

The 15-day IL stint, even while backdated the maximum three days to Sept. 22, makes Cortes ineligible to pitch through at least the ALDS. He cannot be activated until Oct. 5, which is the day of Game 2 of the ALDS, and players can not be added to the roster in the middle of a postseason series unless they are replacing an injured player. Of course, flexor strains are fairly serious injuries. Cortes’ season may be over even if the strain is minor.

“I don’t know if optimistic,” manager Aaron Boone said of Cortes’ potential return this year. “I mean, we’re not ruling it out yet, but first things first, the next week to 10 days at least has to unfold and really see what we’re dealing with.”

Cortes, 29, leads the Yankees in starts (31) and innings (174 1/3), and has pitched to a 3.77 ERA with strong underlying numbers (3.83 FIP, 3.65 xERA, etc.). New York used Cortes out of the bullpen two weeks ago — he threw 4 1/3 hitless innings to get a save — in preparation for a potential relief role in the postseason. He was in the playoff plans one way or another.

Prior to the Cortes news, the Yankees were as healthy as they’ve been all season on the mound, with injured setup man Jonathan Loáisiga their only notable absence. They had six starters for five rotation spots before the Cortes injury. Their rotation depth chart looks something like this at the moment:

1. RHP Gerrit Cole
2. LHP Carlos Rodón
3. RHP Luis Gil
4. RHP Clarke Schmidt
5. LHP Nestor Cortes (out with flexor strain)
6. RHP Marcus Stroman

Stroman, who was moved into the bullpen last week, will rejoin the rotation and start Wednesday’s game. Righty Cody Poteet was called up to replace Cortes on the roster and will take over as the long man in the bullpen.

At 92-65, the Yankees have already clinched a postseason berth, and one more win (or one more Baltimore Orioles loss) clinches the AL East title. The Yankees lost Tuesday’s game to the O’s (BAL 5, NY 3) but still have two more games remaining this series, plus a three-game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend.