How Nestor Cortes' redemption season began in December at Yankees camp

TAMPA, Fla. – On Sunday nights or early Monday mornings, Nestor Cortes would hop a flight from Miami to Tampa, then return home to Miami for the weekend.

This was the lefty’s offseason routine since mid-December, well ahead of spring training.

And he wasn’t the lone early bird at the Yankees’ complex.

“Seeing all these guys here motivated me even more to come,’’ Cortes said of teammates who began appearing with more frequency in early January. “I wanted to make sure I checked all the boxes.’’

Nestor Cortes received additional medical opinions about his shoulder issue

Cortes’ 2023 season was wrecked by rotator cuff strains, limiting him to 12 starts and ending his season after Aug. 5.

Weeks into the Yankees’ earlier-than-anticipated offseason, Cortes’ work with personal trainers in Miami hadn’t improved his shoulder strength.

“I wasn’t getting any better and I was a little scared,’’ said Cortes, speaking Friday morning at Steinbrenner Field.

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Cortes received second and third opinions, ruling out surgery.

The next step was to increase his weight-lifting reps “almost to fatigue, to get that shoulder strong,’’ and to work with the Yankees’ training staff five days a week in Tampa.

Nestor Cortes tracking toward full-go by Opening Day

Cortes was married earlier this offseason, spending some time visiting his wife’s family in Puerto Rico.

By Dec. 3, he’d resumed throwing and “right now everything feels great,’’ said Cortes. “No issues, no extra day (of rest) because I’m too sore. My build-up is as planned.’’

Cortes has already thrown to live batters this week, in a group with fellow starters Carlos Rodon and Marcus Stroman.

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There’s no slow-playing Cortes this spring.

“He’s healthy, he’s done a good job of being on top of it and really staying engaged with the trainers,’’ said manager Aaron Boone. “He’s in line to be pretty much full clip by Opening Day.’’

And that means having Cortes in the 90-pitch range to start the season.

Playing catch up was costly for Nestor Cortes in 2023

So, what went wrong in 2023?

Coming off his breakout, All-Star season in 2022, Cortes developed a strained hamstring early last February, and “it didn’t allow me to ramp up properly.

“I was always behind the eight ball,’’ said Cortes, recalling that he needed “seven or eight’’ live BP sessions before he could pitch in an exhibition game.

“I wanted to start the season with the team, I didn’t want to stay here,’’ Cortes said of extending spring training.

But in his haste, Cortes might have altered his mechanics, leading to his rotator cuff issues.

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Rushing to open the 2023 season had “put me in a bad spot, physically and mentally,’’ said Cortes, who feels completely different this spring.

“To this point, what’s been encouraging is the recovery,’’ said Boone. “That’s where he had a lot of hiccups last year; he was having a really hard time bouncing back.’’

Anticipating bounce back seasons from Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon

Seeing Rodon up close, Cortes said it’s “night and day’’ compared to where his fellow lefty was last spring.

Rodon dealt with a forearm issue early last March, and his 2023 season was further delayed due to back problems.

Combined last season in just 26 starts, Cortes and Rodon posted a 5.92 ERA.

Consider how much the Yankees’ 2024 fortunes might change if Rodon and Cortes pitched anywhere near their 2022 seasons, when they combined for 59 starts and a 2.68 ERA.

All-Stars in 2022, Rodon and Cortes participated in pre-camp workouts for nearly the same amount of time, and “he’s really, really sharp,’’ said Cortes, praising Rodon’s command and velocity.

“I saw him touch 97 (mph) last week,’’ said Cortes. “That’s where he wants to be.’’

Coming off last year’s mess, any improvements look big, and it’s paramount that the Yankees avoid repeating the 2023 MLB distinction of losing the third most team games due to injury list stints.

“We get injured too much as a group. We need to improve,’’ said ace Gerrit Cole a day earlier, emphasizing offseason dedication.

“If you build a foundation the right way and work as hard as possible in the offseason…it will all take care of itself,’’ said Cortes.

On the Yankees, “feels like everybody is aware…what our problem has been the past few years, so we’re trying to take care of it as best we can.’’

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Nestor Cortes injury bounce-back began in December for Yankees