Around the Empire: Yankees news - 8/26/22

The Athletic | Lindsey Adler: The hits do not stop coming. Nestor Cortes, fan favorite and arguably the most consistent starter on the Yankees’ roster, is apparently dealing with a groin strain and now finds himself on the 15-day injured list. This is an unfortunate development for a team itching to get back into shape, and is a definite bummer for fans who have enjoyed watching him carve up lineups all year long. Hopefully this is more precautionary than anything and he’s back on the mound once his 15 days on the shelf are up.

NY Post | Dan Martin: One man’s unfortunate situation is another man’s opportunity, I suppose. In the wake of Cortes’s injury, the Yankees made the move to call up Greg Weissert, a reliever who’s had a remarkable season in Triple-A and is known for having absolutely disgusting stuff. In 46 Triple-A innings this season, Weissert has pitched to a 1.76 ERA and 2.98 FIP with an otherworldly 36.8 percent strikeout rate. If you want to learn more about his stuff and why he’s such an intriguing arm, check out Esteban’s piece from earlier this week.

The Athletic | Lindsey Adler (subscription required): Ron Marinaccio has made a name for himself this year, and it’s not (just) because he bears a passing resemblance to Tommy Shelby himself. Marinaccio, who was relatively unknown prior to this year, has exploded onto the scene, pitching to a 1.72 ERA and 3.09 FIP across 31.1 innings, including an impressive scoreless streak that made fans take notice. The key to it all? His absolutely ridiculous change up.

MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: The trade deadline has long since passed, but, nearly a month later, we still find ourselves talking about the fallout of it, thanks in part to slow pinstripe starts from Andrew Benintendi and Frankie Montas and the success of Jordan Montgomery. Well, here’s a little chestnut that’s sure to illicit some groans — apparently the Miami Marlins reportedly offered Pablo López and Miguel Rojas to the Yankees and asked for Gleyber Torres and Oswald Peraza in return, but Brian Cashman declined the package. This is a surprising development for many reasons. For one, Peraza was reportedly offered up in a package for Montas before Cashman was able to work out a deal that didn’t include him, and we knew the Yankees were very interested in López at the deadline, so one would think that wasn’t the sticking point. On the other hand, Gleyber had a very strong first half to the season, so maybe they were banking on him continuing his return to form, which as we know, unfortunately has not happened. Whatever reason it may be, the past is the past and there’s no sense getting all caught up over what might’ve been. Besides, there’s always the Winter Meetings.