The Philadelphia Phillies appear poised to add a veteran left-hander with a colorful history.
Reports Wednesday indicated the club is in talks with Nestor Cortes on a free-agent contract, a development first noted by MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
The Boston Red Sox had also expressed interest as Cortes worked out for teams this summer following a long recovery from arm surgery.
Cortes, 31, earned his only All-Star selection in 2022 while with the New York Yankees. That season he went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA across 158⅓ innings, using a deceptive, herky-jerky delivery and an unusually wide range of pitches that earned him the nickname Nasty Nestor.
A Cuban-born pitcher who grew up in Florida, he mixes a mid-90s four-seamer with a cutter, slider, changeup and an occasional curveball that can dip into the upper 40s. The approach has produced a career 3.94 ERA and more than 600 strikeouts in just over 600 innings.
His path since that peak has been rockier. After a 2024 campaign in which he logged 174 innings for the Yankees and started Game 1 of the World Series—only to surrender a walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman—Cortes was traded to Milwaukee that winter.
He lasted just two starts with the Brewers before a flexor strain in his left elbow. A midseason deal sent him to San Diego, where he posted a 5.47 ERA in six outings as his velocity declined.
In October 2025, he underwent surgery to repair a tendon tear and was projected to miss nine to 10 months.
That timeline now aligns with mid-August. Cortes has been throwing for interested clubs, and Philadelphia’s interest suggests the Phillies see a chance to add rotation depth or a versatile left-handed option at a modest cost.
The team is in the midst of a series against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park, with interim manager Don Mattingly at the helm. A signing would give Cortes a chance to revive his career in a new league after years of bouncing among organizations.
Whether he returns as a starter or works in a shorter role remains to be seen.
What is clear is that a pitcher once viewed as a reliable mid-rotation piece is again on the market, and the Phillies are among the teams trying to determine if the old deception still works.
