Nestor Cortes is expected to return to the New York Yankees’ pitching rotation for the World Series

Nestor Cortes pitches in the 1st inning

Nestor Cortes is expected to come back to the New York Yankees’ pitching team for the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 29-year-old left-handed pitcher hasn’t played since September 18 due to a strain in his pitching elbow.

“There’s a good chance of it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on Monday. “He’s set to throw another live batting practice tomorrow, so if that goes well, I would say there’s a decent chance he could be on the roster, yes.”

During the season, Cortes had a record of 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA.

Boone mentioned that Gerrit Cole will be the starting pitcher for Friday’s first game at Dodger Stadium.

Nestor Cortes throws to the batter

Carlos Rodón is expected to pitch in Game 2 in Los Angeles, followed by Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil for Games 3 and 4 at Yankee Stadium next week.

“We haven’t finalized that. I can tell you Gerrit will pitch Game 1 and there’s a good chance … we’ll follow that plan,” Boone said. “We’re still enjoying the moment of making it and haven’t really started our preparations yet, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”