Nestor Cortes upset that Yankees used him as a reliever

Yankees called Néstor Cortés to relieve the Cubs on Saturday, which provoked the anger of the starter, who, however, said that he will accept it if it is his new role

The left-handed one of the New York Yankees, Nestor Cortesadmitted he was “upset” at being used as a reliever against the Chicago Cubsand said he was surprised by the demotion from New York’s starting rotation but would accept the new role if it ends up being permanent.

Néstor Cortés said Aaron Boone’s decision to send him to reliever caught him by surprise. Getty Images

Cortes, a 2022 All-Star who has worked exclusively as a starter since midway through the 2021 season, pitched 4.1 innings of hitless relief Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field, combining with starter Clarke Schmidt for a four-hit shutout in the Yankees’ 2-0 victory.

The outspoken Cortes didn’t mince words after the game, calling himself the “workhorse” of New York’s rotation and citing the Yankees’ decision to name him their Opening Day starter when the ace Gerrit Cole He was sidelined with an elbow injury to start the season.

“Obviously, I was upset,” Cortes said. “I felt like out of all the starters, I’ve been the workhorse here. Once Cole got hurt, I was picked to be the Opening Day starter — not necessarily the No. 1, but the Opening Day starter. I had to change my routine there.

“Now they do this.”

It was the first relief appearance since July 23, 2021, for Cortes (9-10), who lowered his ERA to 3.97 and leads the Yankees with 163.1 innings pitched this season. He needed just 48 pitches to complete his Saturday outing, walking one and striking out three.

“I’m never going to back down from a challenge,” he said. “I’m never going to leave my teammates behind. I’m always going to do my best, no matter if I’m happy or not.

“That’s what I did today. I went out and proved that I can handle any situation. From now on, if that’s my role, I’ll accept it.”

Cortes is scheduled to start one of the Yankees’ four games next weekend against the Boston Red Soxbut his role going forward is uncertain as New York is set to return to a five-starting rotation.

Cortes, 29, struggled in his most recent start last Sunday, allowing five runs in four innings in a loss to St. Louis CardinalsBut he was outstanding in his previous three starts, allowing just one run while striking out 18 men in 20.2 innings during that span.

Yankees manager, Aaron Boonepraised Cortes for his performance out of the bullpen, saying it was “a testament to being a professional.”

“I’m sure he’s not thrilled about it right now,” Boone said. “But you still have a job to do, and he went out and excelled at it.”

However, Cortes could be the player left out of the Yankees, as Schmidt and Luis Gil will return from the injured list to join a rotation that includes Cole, Carlos Rodon y Marcus Stroman.

“I have no idea,” Cortes said when asked about his role. “This one took me by surprise, so we’ll see.

“I know they told me I’m going to start against Boston, but after that, with a six-man rotation and days off, guys are going to have extra days and I don’t think that’s necessarily the right decision, so we’ll see.”