New York Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes will be starting on Opening Day against the Houston Astros on March 28, the club announced Friday, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.
Cortes will get the opener because Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will reportedly be out for the next 10-to-12 weeks due to an elbow injury.
The 29-year-old Cortes posted a 4.97 ERA with 1.25 WHIP and 67 strikeouts over 63 1/3 innings (12 starts) during an injury-plagued 2023 season.
However, he authored a 2.44 ERA with 9.3 K/9 across 158 1/3 innings (28 starts) en route to becoming a first-time All-Star in 2022 and finished eighth in AL Cy Young voting.
