How Nestor Cortes Found Out The New York Yankees Traded Him

Former Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes revealed how he found out that he was dealt to the Brewers in the Devin Williams trade.

Jun 29, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes (65) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images / Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Friday’s trade between the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers caught many by surprise, including one of the key players involved.

According to Brewers beat reporter Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, former Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr. was in Las Vegas celebrating his birthday when he learned he had been traded. The left-hander said he woke up to a slew of missed calls and texts, unsure of the reason.

A lot of people have woken up in Las Vegas confused; consider Nestor Cortes among them. He's in Vegas celebrating his birthday and woke up this morning to a ton of missed calls and texts and had no idea why.

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) December 13, 2024

At 12:22 p.m. ET, ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news that the Yankees had acquired two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams from the Brewers. Passan confirmed shortly thereafter that Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin were headed to Milwaukee. Since Cortes was in Las Vegas, he was three hours behind.

Like Williams, Cortes is entering his final year of team control before becoming a free agent. With the departure of Clay Holmes, the Yankees had a gap in their bullpen, and after signing Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal, their starting rotation grew to seven major-league pitchers.

After the trade was finalized, Cortes told Hogg and other reporters that he had suspected there would be an "odd man out" in the Yankees' rotation after the Fried signing. Since both he and Fried are left-handed, he had a feeling it might be him.

Nestor Cortes said he figured there would be an "odd-man out" in the Yankees rotation, and after they signed another lefty in Max Fried he thought it may be him.

— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) December 13, 2024

Cortes, 30, posted a 9-10 record with a 3.77 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in a career-high 174.1 innings this past season. He allowed no more than one earned run in six of his final seven regular-season starts before a left elbow flexor strain sidelined him in late September.

The injury kept Cortes off the ALDS and ALCS rosters, but he returned sooner than expected, rejoining the Yankees in time for the World Series. He acknowledged the risk that his early return could aggravate the injury and potentially cost him the 2025 season, but ultimately felt the chance to contribute to his team’s success was worth the gamble.

“We have weighed in on the consequences that this can lead up to,” Cortes told reporters, including Greg Joyce of The New York Post. “But if I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, then so be it.”

In a pivotal Game 1, with the Yankees leading 3-2 in extra innings, manager Aaron Boone made the controversial decision to summon Cortes for his first appearance in over a month. With runners on first and second and Shohei Ohtani stepping to the plate, Cortes retired Ohtani on a single pitch. 

However, after intentionally walking Mookie Betts, he surrendered the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history to Freddie Freeman.

Cortes faced a similar situation in Game 3 at home, though not in extra innings, and worked out of the jam. He pitched 1.2 scoreless frames, but New York ultimately lost the game, falling behind 3-0 in the series—a deficit they could not overcome.

Despite the tough ending to his Yankees career, Cortes had been a reliable mid-rotation arm in the Bronx when healthy. Dating back to his 2021 breakout season, he’s logged 489 innings with a 3.33 ERA, a 25.2% strikeout rate, and a 6.2% walk rate. His ERA was somewhat inflated by a 2023 campaign limited to 12 starts due to a shoulder strain, during which he posted a 4.97 ERA.

Cortes now joins a Brewers rotation that features veterans Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff (returning from shoulder surgery in 2023). Milwaukee also has Aaron Civale, Tobias Myers, Aaron Ashby, and DL Hall as potential back-of-the-rotation options.

With Cortes gone, New York’s rotation is slightly less crowded, though still stacked with six major-league starters. Having excess pitching depth is a good problem to have, but with Fried, Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Rodón each making over $27 million annually—and with promising righties like Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt offering cost-controlled upside—veteran Marcus Stroman could be the next “odd man out.” 

Stroman, owed $18.3 million in 2025, was bumped from the rotation leading into the postseason after making 29 starts for New York. However, the former two-time All-Star could still hold some value on the trade market for teams seeking dependable veteran arms.