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NEW YORK — Nestor Cortes was slated to start Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles as the New York Yankees look to clinch the American League East title. Instead, the team put the left-hander on the 15-day injured list because of a “left elbow flexor strain” retroactive to Sunday after he underwent an MRI exam.

Cortes said he did not know the severity of the strain, but that the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow “looks good.” He said he would not throw for the next seven to 10 days and expected to receive a platelet-rich plasma injection as an attempt to accelerate healing.

Cortes said the imaging taken Wednesday would be sent to Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. Keith Meister, two of the leading orthopedic surgeons for reconstructive elbow surgery, for second and third opinions.

Going on the injured list ensures Cortes will not be available for the start of the AL Division Series on Oct. 5, though his absence should extend longer than that. Though he shared hope he could return in 2024, manager Aaron Boone struck a different tone.

“I don’t know if [I’m] optimistic,” Boone said. “I mean, we’re not ruling it out yet. First things first, the next week to 10 days, at least, has to unfold to really see what we’re dealing with and see if there is any chance.”

The Yankees turned to Marcus Stroman, who recently shifted to the bullpen, to start in Cortes’ place Wednesday. Stroman last pitched eight days earlier, throwing three innings in his first and only relief appearance this season. The club also called up Cody Poteet, who was recently activated from the 60-day injured list and sent to Triple-A.

A former 36th-round pick, Cortes was an All-Star in 2022 and, after an injury-plagued 2023 season, was enjoying a bounce-back campaign, posting a 3.77 ERA across a team-leading 174⅓ innings pitched across 30 starts. Still, he was the subject of trade rumors at the deadline and was expected to pitch out of the bullpen in the postseason. His recent performance did not suggest he has been dealing with any elbow trouble; he gave up one run with 18 strikeouts in 15⅓ innings over his past three outings.

The stretch began with Cortes tossing 4⅓ hitless innings in his first relief appearance of the season against the Chicago Cubs, and afterward sharing his frustration with moving to the bullpen. He returned to the rotation five days later, limiting the Boston Red Sox to one run with nine strikeouts across five innings. On Sept. 18, he held the Seattle Mariners to four hits over six scoreless innings.

But Cortes said he began feeling discomfort before his relief appearance in Chicago. Bouncing back after each subsequent appearance became increasingly difficult. But Cortes, who said he doesn’t believe briefly changing roles caused the injury, pitched through it, believing the problem would subside until he threw a bullpen session Sunday in Oakland and reported the issue to the team. On Tuesday, after playing catch, he told the team he didn’t feel good enough to make his start Wednesday.

“I don’t think I was able to go out there and throw 100 pitches,” Cortes said. “Could have I gone out there and thrown? Definitely. Quality? Probably not. We’re trying to win as many games as possible and I don’t think I would’ve been the guy or the answer for us to win today so i decided to say something.”

The Yankees have, for the most part, benefited from good injury luck in recent weeks. Clarke Schmidt, Anthony Rizzo, Jon Berti, Ian Hamilton and Luis Gil also have been reinstated from the injured list since Sept. 1. The reinforcements made the Yankees more whole than just about any other club in baseball.

It also gave the Yankees a problem that teams would love to confront down the stretch: having six healthy, capable starting pitchers for five spots. The surplus prompted the Yankees to move Cortes to the bullpen for one rotation turn before switching Stroman with him for the next turn.

On Wednesday, that surplus took a hit.

“He’s been throwing the ball well so well and has put together a really good year,” Boone said. “Certainly feel for him right now and just have to pick up the slack there and support him right now.”

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

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Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

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Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

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