The Philadelphia Phillies are in a dogfight for one of the two final wild card spots in the National League. They currently have a record of 70-58 and sit in the second wild card spot with a two-game lead over the San Diego Padres. While they have been playing very well of late, it could only take one or two bad series to drop them in the standings. A week-long skid could be the difference between hosting a playoff series and missing it altogether. With no margin for error, the Phillies have brought in Nestor Cortes to help solidify the pitching staff. But what role will he have?
Nestor Cortes Gives the Phillies Flexibility with their Pitchers
Cortes’ career has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Over his eight seasons in the bigs, he has a 3.94 ERA over 602 ⅓ innings with 604 strikeouts to 180 walks, a 1.190 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 105. His peak was back in 2021-22, when he posted an ERA under 3 and was one of the New York Yankees‘ most reliable starters. Over the past few years, injuries have derailed him and led to some ugly stat lines. But he has shown flashes and can deliver decent performances for the Phillies in a limited role.
There are three roles that Cortes can take on to give the Phillies something. The most likely is to be a multi-inning reliever out of the bullpen. Someone they can go to if the starter is not able to go deep into a game. Cortes can play sort of a mop-up role and give them two or three solid innings. This will save their bullpen and prevent their relievers from getting overworked. This will also be huge in the postseason. Every recent world champion has had at least one reliever they can trust to go multiple innings. That could be Cortes this year.
In a similar vein, he could be the piggyback option with Andrew Painter. This is a strategy the Seattle Mariners were using where you pick two starters to pitch in one game. The hope is that each gives you around four innings, so you only have to use one reliever instead of multiple. Painter has been better of late, but he is still unproven. At best, he can only give you four to five innings. Having Cortes come in on Painter starts can fill
The final option seems the least likely: to be a starter and go with a six-man rotation. The Phillies are going to need their front-line starters to be at their best come playoff time. Guys like Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler, and Jesus Luzardo need to be able to go seven innings. But with them still in a pennant chase, they can not afford to rest them during the regular season. Adding Cortes to the rotation gives these starters an extra day to relax their arm, without having to take them out of the game early. Thus getting the best of both worlds.
The most likely case is that Cortes does a little bit of all three with the Phillies. They use him in multiple roles to find what works and how to maximize his value. If Cortes is able to recapture what made him so good a few years ago, the Phillies got a steal.
