By Miguel Rapetti
Sep 14, 2024, 7:54 PM EDT
Cuban Néstor Cortés won the chance to rejoin the New York Yankees rotation on Saturday after being confirmed by team manager Aaron Boone as the fifth member of the rotation, which left Marcus Stroman in a new job as a reliever.
Speaking prior to the Yankees’ 7-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of four at Yankee Stadium, Boone explained the move, which was intended to address Cortes’ discomfort at being used as a bullpen pitcher on Saturday.
However, an eventual rotation of six starters gave Cortes the opportunity to start again and he dominated with nine strikeouts in five innings and one run allowed to the Red Sox last Thursday, which made the Mules manager opt for Stroman to reinforce the pitching staff.
Regarding the appointment, Boone explained that he spoke with Stroman and that he will have no problems fulfilling his new role, because it seems that the right-hander’s intention is to work for a winning team.
“He’s totally committed to the team and the guys. Basically, his message to me was, ‘Whatever you need, I’ll be ready for whatever. ’ I think all he wants is to be part of a winning team.”
Despite the designation, Boone is not clear on the role Stroman will play and does not know if he will return to a temporary six-man starting rotation.
“We’ll see (about the future). I’ll try to put Stroman in the best position and make sure we communicate well with him. We talked about it yesterday. Nothing is set in stone, but with the day off we have (next Monday), I want to keep us with five starters in this next at-bat and maybe the next one as well,” Boone concluded.
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