The New York Yankees are in a bit of a confusing state at present. Their ace pitcher, Gerrit Cole, will be unavailable for the next one to two months. The NY side might not be ready to deal with this situation. They had a terrible outing last year. The Bronx Bombers finished with an awful 82-80 record. They were the fourth-placed team in the American League East. Several key players were on the Injured List. That weakened their offense last season. When nothing was going their way, only Gerrit Cole had a season to remember in 2023. Albeit, the ace pitcher prefers winning the World Series with the Yankees than winning Cy Young. Nevertheless, he proved to be the best hurler in the American League in 2023.
Moreover, Cole has been the biggest strength of the Yankee’s defense in the past few years. He never really had severe injury issues while playing in the Bronx. Now, the team is ready to redeem themselves with a strong offense and looks like a top contender for the World Series. It is really unfortunate for the Yankees that, at this point, their ace pitcher suffered a severe right elbow injury. Only two weeks to go before the Opening Day, they are desperate to find a replacement for Cole. Apparently, Nestor Cortes will replace the AL 2023 Cy Young winner on the Opening Day.
Nestor Cortes Is The Replacement For Gerrit Cole On The Opening Day
Apparently, Nestor Cortes is the next best option for the Yankees to replace Cole. On Friday, the NY side announced that the left-hander would be their starter on Opening Day. Moreover, the Bronx Bombers have sidelined Gerrit Cole for another month due to the right elbow injury. But for Cortes, it will be a first-time experience. He has never started on the Opening Day before in his career. On Friday, Aaron Boone informed Cortes of the news. The Yankees will face off against the Houston Astros on the road on March 28 for their opening day.
As per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Nestor Cortes seems confident. Apparently, Cortes told Boone that he is ready for the new challenge. The lefty pitcher said the Yankees manager knew he could take up the task. Back in 2021, Cortes had been up and down, back and forth between starting and bullpen. Nestor Cortes added that throughout his career, he had to play different roles. Hence, he is confident that he can go out there and prove, “I can be the guy.”
Apparently, The 2023 Season Did Not Faze Cortes
As per MLB.com, the replacement of Gerrit Cole for the opening day did not show any sign that last year fazed him about bouncing back in 2024. Moreover, Nestor Cortes mentioned that every year, players are presented with an opportunity to prove themselves. It does not matter if it was a good or a bad year.
In addition, Cortes mentioned that people will ask if you can repeat it if it was a great year. On the other hand, if it was a bad year, people will say, “What can you turn around?” But Cortes is trying to focus on Game 1 at this point. Later, he plans to concentrate more on his “Rehab stuff.” Finally, he just wishes to come out every five days.
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