Jomboy thinks Nestor Cortes is losing his touch: "You can visibly see that he's running out of gas"
When it came to Yankees pitchers in 2022, it was hard to find a better arm than Nestor Cortes, who went from relative no-name to Cy Young contender overnight.
In his first season with the Yankees last season, the Cuban emigre put up an ERA of 2.44 over 158 innings, striking out 163 and amassing a record of 12-4. For his excellent stats, Cortes was awarded his first AL All-Star appearance as well as a top 10 finish in AL Cy Young voting.
2023, however, has not brought with it nearly as much success for Nestor Cortes. Now with an ERA of 5.53, Cortes has not made it past the fifth inning in any of his last four starts.
Regarding the performance, Jimmy O'Brien of Jomboy Media recently took to his popular show to lament Cortes' performance. O'Brien, who is one of the best-known alternative baseball commentators and big-time New York Yankees fan, remarked on Cortes' apparent loss of his longevity.
Didn't plan on having tough conversations about Nestor https://t.co/KMzpCrfMLh
"Didn't plan on having tough conversations about Nestor" - Talkin' Yanks
Jomboy cited the fact that Nestor Cortes' ERA is 16.55 from the fifth inning onwards. This remarks a fantastic fall from grace for an arm who threw one of the MLB's few complete game shutouts last season. He said:
"You can visibly see that he's running out of gas towards the end of these games."
More subjectively, O'Brien claimed that he could tell that Cortes is getting more and more tired from his mound appearances. He did however note that Cortes' nine starts may not be a sufficient sample size to draw conclusions.
Nestor Cortes had made 26 straight starts at home without allowing more than 3 ER coming into today.
Streak over. https://t.co/e0fLUZarSG
"Nestor Cortes had made 26 straight starts at home without allowing more than 3 ER coming into today. Streak over." - Raysin
After his strong season last year, Cortes inked a $3.2 million deal with the New York Yankees last season to avoid arbitration. Although he was expected to be in line for a big extension at the end of the 2023 season, his current stats do not make that prospect look especially good.
Nestor Cortes knows he has what it takes
Although Cortes is having a tough season, virtually all of his teammates are as well. The Yankees are now in the basement of the AL East, trading the bottom spot with the Boston Red Sox, and eight games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. For Cortes, the path to redemption starts with him recalling his immense skillset, which got him where he is in the first place.