Nestor Cortes Jr. will not be representing the United States at the World Baseball Classic after all.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports the New York Yankees left-handed pitcher has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and has withdrawn from the tournament.
Yankees LHP Nestor Cortes Jr. out of World Baseball Classic, sources tell @TheAthletic. Was set to pitch for Team USA, but recently tweaked hamstring. Leaves C Kyle Higashioka (USA), 2B Gleyber Torres (Venezuela) and RH Jonathan Loáisiga (Nicaragua) as only Yankees in tournament.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 13, 2023
Cortes, 28, will not throw off of a mound for the next two weeks.
Raised in Hialeah, FL, Cortes was an All-Star in 2022, his fifth big league season and third with the Yankees.
Last season, Cortes went 12-4 with a 2.44 earned run average and 0.922 WHIP over 158.1 innings in 28 starts.
In his second stint with the Yankees, Cortes has also spent time with the Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners.
And Freeland has indeed been added to Team USA roster, according to his transaction page. #Rockies now have seven playing in the WBC
— Danielle Allentuck (@d_allentuck) February 13, 2023
Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette confirms that Kyle Freeland of the Colorado Rockies has taken the spot of Cortes on the Team USA roster.
Team USA opens up its WBC campaign on March 11 with a game against Great Britain.
