Yankees’ Nestor Cortes placed on injured list due to left shoulder strain

Yankees’ Nestor Cortes placed on injured list due to left shoulder strain

The Yankees’ rotation took another hit, with Nestor Cortes placed on the IL Tuesday with a strained left shoulder.

Aaron Boone called it a “small” strain and said the left-hander would likely be shut down for two weeks.

Cortes, who underwent an MRI exam on Monday, saw team physician Chris Ahmad and received a cortisone shot Tuesday.

He said he’d been having difficulty bouncing back from his last few starts and it got worse after his most recent outing in Seattle.

Speaking after the Yankees lost to the White Sox, 3-2, at the Stadium on Tuesday, Cortes said the recovery process got worse after he pitched five innings in Seattle on May 30.

When the issue lingered into the third and fourth day following the outing, Cortes told the training staff.

“It still felt like I pitched the day before,’’ Cortes said.


Nestor Cortes
Nestor CortesGetty Images

Coming off an All-Star season, Cortes has been struggling for much of this year, with a 5.16 ERA.

He will be replaced Wednesday by righty Randy Vasquez.

The 24-year-old got the nod over Jhony Brito for the start against the White Sox in The Bronx.

Vasquez debuted May 26 and pitched well in a loss to the Padres, in which he allowed two runs in 4 ²/₃ innings.

The injury could explain the 28-year-old Cortes’ issues going deeper in games this season. He has pitched well in the first few innings of his outings, but opposing hitters have posted a .750 OPS against Cortes from pitches 50-75 and a 1.402 OPS from pitches 76-100.


Ryan Weber has a UCL strain and will have to decide whether to go with rest and rehab or go the surgical route. Weber was placed on the IL Saturday with a right forearm strain.


Josh Donaldson homered in the bottom of the ninth, his third homer in his last three games.

He was playing third base, with struggling infielder DJ LeMahieu getting a day off Tuesday.

LeMahieu was just 9-for-59 (.153) with 18 strikeouts in his past 15 games.

Boone said LeMahieu is not worn down.

“He’s done great with his health in the foot and the toe and everything all year. He’s been scuffling a little bit here these last couple of weeks,” Boone said of the 34-year-old. “But in my mind, coming into this year, he was probably going to have some more [off] days regardless, just with wanting to keep him sharp and fresh.”


Anthony Volpe stole his 14th base of the season and has yet to be thrown out. It was the rookie’s first stolen base since May 13. … The Yankees bullpen threw three scoreless innings in relief of Clarke Schmidt, lowering its MLB-best ERA to 2.82.