Nestor Cortes expects to be in the New York Yankees lineup for the World Series which begins Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cortes threw 28 pitches over two innings in practice Tuesday and later declared himself recovered from an elbow injury that sidelined him for more than a month.
Cortes said he plans to pitch even though he may suffer a long-term injury.
“If I win a ring and then have to go away for a year, so be it,” he said.
Cortes reported an hour after training that he was feeling a normal level of soreness.
The Yankees pitcher has been sidelined since September 18 due to strain in the elbow flexor with which he throws.
“I expect to be in the lineup, for sure, or at least to be considered,” added the 29-year-old left-hander.
The Yankees are considering whether to have 13 pitchers on their 26-man World Series roster.
They had 12 pitchers and 14 position players against the Cleveland Guardians after using 11 pitchers and 15 position players against the Kansas City Royals.
The World Series roster must be submitted to major league baseball before 10 a.m. Friday morning.
“If we add him, we’ll probably have to have 13,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said. It would be difficult to add him with the restrictions he has and remove a pitcher. We definitely can’t use him like some of the other guys in the bullpen. »
Cortes made an outing as a reliever this season, his first since 2021. He pitched for 4 1/3 innings in a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on September 7.
