Yankees' Nestor Cortes Out of World Baseball Classic With Hamstring Injury

Cortes was previously lined up to pitch for the United States this spring.

Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes won't pitch in the World Baseball Classic after tweaking his hamstring, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. 

With Cortes sitting out, only three Yankees are expected to participate in this year's WBC. Kyle Higashioka will catch for the United States, second baseman Gleyber Torres will play for Venezuela and reliever Jonathan Loáisigia is set to pitch for Nicaragua. 

Cortes is coming off a breakout season in 2022. The funky lefty was an All-Star, posting a spectacular 2.44 ERA over a career-high 158.1 innings pitched. 

This isn't the first time injury concerns have held a Yankees starter out of the WBC this spring. Right-hander Luis Severino was poised to pitch for the Dominican Republic, but general manager Brian Cashman preferred otherwise, citing the pitcher's lengthy injury history.

“We support our players going [to the WBC], but when a player like Luis Severino, who has had an injury history the last few years ... that’s not in our best interest given losing him so far over the last few years,” Cashman recently said in an interview with 670 The Score in Chicago. “Having him pitch competitive, championship-contending World Baseball Classic innings in March, versus preparation innings in March for your long-haul season, that was a decision I had to make.” 

Regardless of the severity of Cortes' hamstring injury, the same logic applies. Cortes is too important to New York's rotation to risk him missing time during the regular season when his innings count toward a championship run. 

After all, the Yankees are already dealing with injury complications within their starting rotation. Frankie Montas, who continues to work through inflammation in his right shoulder, will begin the season on the injured list. 

With Montas on the sidelines, New York is expected to use either veteran Domingo Germán or former top prospect Clarke Schmidt in the rotation's No. 5 spot. 

MORE:

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• Where Yankees’ Top Prospects With Non-Roster Invitation Stand Entering Camp
• Which Non-Roster Invitees Are Most Likely to Play For Yankees This Season

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