New York Yankees 2022 All-Star left-hander "Nasty" Nestor Cortes climbed from Clearwater to Lehigh Valley on Saturday, advancing in one leap from Single-A to Triple-A in his comeback with the Philadelphia Phillies .
The move comes two days after Cortes' Single-A season ended, positioning the left-hander as a potential September call-up or postseason bullpen option for Philadelphia .
FanSided's Robert Murray first reported that Philadelphia had reached an agreement with Cortes on August 19, and the club confirmed the signing later that day. Cortes declared free agency after the 2025 season, but went unsigned for nine months as he recovered from arm surgery.
The deal is a one-year contract that pays a prorated $1.5 million if Cortes makes the major league roster and $250,000 if he remains in the minors, according to MLB Trade Rumors. Philadelphia designated right-hander Brian Keller for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for him on Aug. 19.
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Interim manager Don Mattingly called Cortes "depth" and "another guy that's got experience," according to MLB.com . The Phillies failed to add a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, choosing instead to rely on scrap-heap pickup Cortes as rotation insurance for a playoff push.
Cortes had not appeared in a professional game since a left biceps tendon surgery in October 2025 sidelined him for most of a year. That procedure followed a lost season split between Milwaukee and San Diego , where an elbow flexor strain in April cost him 102 games according to The Associated Press , before a biceps injury ended his year in September.
Cortes also dealt with a left rotator cuff strain in 2023 and a late-season elbow flexor strain in 2024 that ended his Yankees campaign before that October's postseason.
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Cortes agreed to open his Phillies career with the Single-A Clearwater Threshers to build up pitch count as he rehabbed from the surgery. But the Threshers placed him on a 7-day injured list on Aug. 26, before he had thrown a pitch for the club, according to The Athletic . He was activated Sept. 8 and made his organizational debut that day, striking out a batter and allowing one run as his fastball never exceeded 91.4 mph .
Clearwater's season ended two days later when the Tampa Tarpons completed a sweep of the Florida State League West Division Series, closing out the Threshers, winners of the league's first-half West Division title with a 7-5 win, according to the league's official transaction log . With no more A-ball games left to pitch, Triple-A Lehigh Valley became the obvious landing spot for a veteran already stretching back out.
Cortes made an All-Star team with the Yankees in 2022 before New York traded him to Milwaukee for closer Devin Williams in December 2024. Now 31, he is auditioning to prove his left arm still has enough left for a pennant race, with Triple-A hitters serving as the final test before Philadelphia decides whether he belongs on a September roster. He finished 2025 with a 2-4 record and 6.29 ERA across eight starts split between Milwaukee and San Diego, according to MLB Trade Rumors .
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