Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes has been sidelined with a strained flexor in his pitching elbow, leading to his placement on the 15-day injured list, a setback for New York’s rotation as they prepare for the postseason. Cortes was removed from his scheduled start against Baltimore and replaced by Marcus Stroman, with the move retroactively effective from the previous Sunday.

Cortes, with a record of 9-10 and a 3.77 ERA, was being considered as a potential third starter for the Yankees in the playoffs alongside Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón. He had been on a strong run recently, going 4-0 with a remarkable 1.58 ERA in his last seven starts, recording 38 strikeouts and 10 walks over 40 innings.

Despite already securing a playoff spot, New York required just one win in their final five games to secure the AL East title and a first-round bye. This would allow them to start the Division Series at home on October 5th.

In the absence of Cortes, pitchers like Marcus Stroman, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt are being considered as potential Game 3 starters. Due to scheduled off days between games, the team may only need three starting pitchers during the postseason.

To fill the void left by Cortes, New York has called up right-hander Cody Poteet from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as they navigate their way through the final stretch of the regular season.