TAMPA — Nestor Cortes on Monday night got the lineup he would be facing in live batting practice Tuesday afternoon and immediately saw a daunting task.
The left-hander got a little hint of what opposing pitchers may be feeling this season when they take on the Yankees lineup with Aaron Judge and Juan Soto hitting back-to-back.
Cortes also threw to Giancarlo Stanton, Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham during the live session that simulated three innings and built his pitch count up to around 44.
“It’s tough,” Cortes said. “[Monday] night, when I saw who I was facing, I was like, ‘It’s a tryout again for me.’ But no, it’s fun and exciting. The competition is always wanted and needed in camp. This was a good first step.”
Cortes aced the test, including striking out Soto three times in three at-bats (all swinging), though he gave his new teammate some grace.
“It’s too early for him to be out there,” Cortes said with a grin. “It’s probably his first live [pitching] he’s seen since last season. Nothing to it.”
The real test for Cortes, though, will be seeing how he recovers in the coming days.
That was his biggest issue last year when he struggled to bounce back properly between outings and was eventually diagnosed with a pair of rotator cuff strains, the second ending his season in August.
Cortes looked and felt good on Tuesday but also pointed to the next few days as key.
“I don’t think the day of is concerning, it’s [Wednesday],” he said. “Obviously, see how I bounce back and how I recover is the question for me and the staff.”
Manager Aaron Boone liked what he saw from Cortes, who said he was trying to be “as effortless as possible” and still hit 91-92 mph with his fastball.
“I thought Nestor’s stuff was good,” Boone said. “I don’t think he was totally sharp yet, but it’s what we’ve been seeing in his buildup: all the pitch qualities are there for him. He’s bouncing back and recovering well. I’m looking forward to seeing how he recovers [Wednesday]. … Had life to his fastball like we know he has. I thought he threw his breaking ball well, the cutter, it was all there.
“Even flashed a good changeup, which he’s been doing more of.”
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