Cortes (illness) has resumed throwing at the Yankees' spring training facility in Tampa and could be reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list as soon as this weekend, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.
Whether New York reinstates Cortes from the IL during its four-game series with the Red Sox that begins Thursday may ultimately hinge on what kind of innings totals the club gets from its starting pitchers in the first two or three contests in Boston. If a healthy Cortes isn't needed as a multi-inning arm out of the bullpen this weekend, he could rejoin the Yankees in a starting role next week. With Michael King (finger) facing an uncertain timeline to return and with the club dropping Asher Wojciechowski from the 40-man roster after an ugly spot start Wednesday, Cortes could be a candidate to fill the final opening in the Yankees' rotation.