Nestor Cortes is the Yankees' Opening Day starter. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images)

With Gerrit Cole no longer able to start on Opening Day, the New York Yankees are turning to their next best option. Which is apparently Nestor Cortes.

Nestor Cortes to Start Opening Day for Yankees

The left-hander was named the Yankees' Opening Day starter on Friday, replacing the reigning AL Cy Young winner who has been sidelined for at least a month with an elbow injury. It will be the first Opening Day start of Cortes' career.

Boone's Announcement

Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Cortes the news on Friday. "I told [Boone] that I'm prepared for it," Cortes said. "He affirmed that he knew I could take up that task. I've been up and down, I've been back and forth between starting and bullpen in '21. I've got put into many different roles throughout my whole career, so I feel like I can go out there and show I can be the guy."

Cortes' 2023 Season

Cortes' time on the mound in 2023 wasn't very successful either, though that could easily be attributable to his shoulder issues. He averaged 5.28 innings per start with a 4.97 ERA, 4.49 FIP, and 1.247 WHIP in 12 starts.

Optimism and Determination

Cortes didn't indicate he was phased about having to bounce back from a year like 2023: "Every year, you have something to prove no matter if it was a good year or a bad year. If it's a good year, people are going to ask if you can repeat it. If it's a bad year, what can you turn around? For me, it's just focusing on Game 1 and after that, just concentrate more on my rehab stuff and being able to come out every five days."

Yankees' Rotation Depth

Even if Cortes is optimistic, him being the choice for Opening Day start underscores how reliant the Yankees were on Cole. The would-be AL East contenders' rotation depth was a major issue after dealing away Michael King and Jhony Brito in the Juan Soto deal. Signing Marcus Stroman helped the cause, but the team will have to rely upon an unproven arm like Clayton Beeter until Cole returns, and that's assuming everyone else stays healthy.