Cortes said he expects to be capped around 60 pitches in his start Wednesday against the Rays, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.
Since being reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list Friday, Cortes has been available out of the bullpen only in an emergency, as New York has been preparing for him to step into the rotation as its new fifth starter in place of Asher Wojciechowski, who was designated for assignment last week and later released. Because of the time he missed coming out of the All-Star break due to his positive COVID-19 test, Cortes isn't fully stretched out for a traditional start, so the Yankees will act conservatively with his workload Wednesday. How Cortes fares against the Rays along with what additions the Yankees make prior to Friday's trade deadline will likely determine whether the lefty picks up additional starts beyond Wednesday.