Nestor Cortes undergoes an MRI scan of his left elbow

The Yankees have qualified for the playoffs, but are facing a potentially worrying injury scenario as the left-hander Nestor Cortes — who was scheduled to start tonight's game against the Orioles — is undergoing an MRI scan of his left elbow, as Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported.

Assuming that he is no longer eligible as a player, the Yankees could Marcus Stroman (who recently moved to the bullpen) or get an arm from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Right-handed Cody Poteet, Yoendrys Gomez And Will Warren are all on the 40-man roster and all fresh. Of the trio, Poteet has pitched the most major league innings this season (21) and has also been the most successful (2.14 ERA). Curry adds that Poteet is going to the Bronx, suggesting he will get the nod, although there has been no official statement from the team yet.

The 29-year-old Cortes has pitched a career-high 174 1/3 innings at the major league level this season and has been quite effective in doing so. He has started 30 games (also a career high) and posted a 3.77 earned run average while striking out a solid 22.8% of his opponents and posting an excellent 5.5% walk rate. Although he is a decidedly fly-ball pitcher (31.1% grounder rate), Cortes has chipped away at some of the home run issues that have plagued him throughout his career; he began the season averaging 1.49 home runs per nine innings pitched but has dropped that to a more acceptable (but still above-average) mark of 1.24 in 2024.

It is not clear if Cortes would be part of the Yankees’ postseason rotation, but he would certainly play a key role in the bullpen even if the team decided to Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and one of Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt in the top three spots. (Cole and Rodon are set, health permitting.) Cortes is no stranger to working as a reliever. He has been primarily a starter over the past few seasons, but he has still played 37% of his career relief appearances.

The Yankees have a pair of experienced left-handed options in the bullpen, with Tim Hill And Tim Mayza both on the roster, but neither can miss shots at the same level as Cortes. Mayza also has alarming platoon splits, making him more ideal for strict left-versus-left matchups. Cortes would also be an obvious option to help managers Aaron Boone some length out of the bullpen in case of a short start during postseason play.

All of those scenarios are now on hold as the Yankees await news on Cortes' apparently ailing elbow. Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture for Cortes himself, a serious injury would be the worst possible time (not that there's ever a “good” time for a serious health setback). He's entering his final offseason of arbitration eligibility and is eligible for a $3.95 million raise this year. An injury that jeopardizes a significant portion of his 2025 season could rule Cortes out as a non-candidate for a contract, as he's set to be a free agent after the 2025 season. And if there's something in play that affects his availability in 2025, that would obviously shorten his actual platform season before free agency, when, if healthy, he'd be a clear candidate for a multi-year deal.