Yankees' Nestor Cortes: Expects to be ready for Opening Day

Cortes (shoulder) said Friday that he expects to be ready for Opening Day, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Cortes missed a large chunk of the 2023 season with a left shoulder strain. He noted Friday that he'd had trouble getting over the hump with his shoulder earlier this offseason while throwing on his own, but once he shifted his rehab to the Yankees' spring training complex in December, things have been trending up. Cortes is tentatively lined up to pitch one of the Yankees' exhibition games in Mexico City on March 24-25.