Yankees add LHP Nestor Cortes to World Series roster

The New York Yankees added left-hander Nestor Cortes to the roster on Friday in advance of Game 1 of the World Series.

Cortes was not included on the roster in the American League Division Series or the AL Championship Series in victories over the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians, respectively.

After last taking the mound Sept. 18 with six scoreless innings in a win over the Seattle Mariners, Cortes went on the injured list with an elbow flexor strain.

To make room for Cortes, the Yankees left infielder Jon Berti off the roster. Right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. also remained on the roster after he was added as an injury replacement for right-hander Ian Hamilton (calf) in the ALCS.

Cortes, 29, went 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts) this season. In seven seasons, he has a career record of 33-21 with a 3.80 ERA in 135 appearances (86 starts) for the Baltimore Orioles (2018), Yankees (2019, 2021-24) and Mariners (2020).

The Yankees appear set with a four-man World Series rotation of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil, and could end up using Cortes out of the bullpen.

Berti, 34, appeared in four combined games in the NLDS and NLCS, starting three of them at first base as Anthony Rizzo recovered from multiple fractured fingers. He was 2-for-11 in the four playoff games.

Berti batted .273 with one home run and six RBIs in 25 games for the Yankees this season and is a career .259 hitter with 24 home runs and 126 RBIs in 461 games over seven seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays (2018), Miami Marlins (2019-23) and Yankees.

Leiter, 33, made two appearances in the ALCS after he joined the club and had a 3.86 ERA. In 60 appearances with the Chicago Cubs and Yankees this season, he was 4-5 with a 4.50 ERA. In five seasons with four clubs, he is 10-22 with a 4.56 ERA in 211 appearances (15 starts).

--Field Level Media