CHICAGO – Nestor Cortes drew criticism from fans for his honest response expressing frustration over his move to the bullpen, but Aaron Boone did not.
The Yankees manager said he had no problem with Cortes’ comments on Saturday, in which the left-hander admitted he was “upset” about the move while also saying he felt he had been the “workhorse” in the rotation.
This came after Cortes, replacing Clarke Schmidt, mowed down the Cubs with 4 ¹/₃ no-hit innings to complete a 2-0 victory at Wrigley Field.
“I don’t need everybody to be happy with everything,” Boone said Sunday morning before the Yankees lost the series finale 2-1. “I want them to want and expect the best. There comes a time when you have to make difficult decisions and then it’s up to all of us, the players, to go out there, do our jobs and be professionals, and we saw that (on Saturday) with Nestor.”
“He clearly wants to be in the starting lineup and there’s certainly good reasons for that. He’s now returning to the rotation. But we’ve also seen a guy come out in a low-scoring game and shine and finish a great day for us on the mound. So no, (I’m) totally OK with that.”
In his comments Saturday, Cortes also said, “You’re always going to see my best performance, whether I’m happy or not,” adding that he would accept the role in the bullpen if it came to that.
The plan currently is to add Cortes back into the rotation later this week — likely Friday against the Red Sox in the Bronx — as the Yankees use a six-man rotation in the first round before cutting down to five.
The crucial phase comes after Schmidt and Luis Gil both returned from the injury list this weekend.
Through Saturday, Cortes had thrown the most innings of any Yankees starter (159) and had an ERA of 4.08 in 28 starts.
But on Saturday, he looked as fit as he has all season after coming out of the bullpen, even coming in mid-inning and leaving a runner on third base.
“I’m not surprised that he excelled in that role because I think he’s done that in the past,” Boone said. “Then when we get down to it or we get into playoff scenarios where roles can expand and change and evolve, I think he’s capable of making big, important outs for us whether he’s starting or coming off the bench in an important situation. So he’s going to play a big role for us going forward.”
