NEW YORK – Nestor Cortes expects to be on the New York Yankees’ World Series roster against the Los Angeles Dodgers after pitching two innings of batting practice and reporting recovery from an elbow injury that kept him away for over a month.

Cortes said he plans to throw even though it risks long-term injury.

“If I get a ring and then a year off from baseball, so be it,” he said.

Cortes threw 28 pitches Tuesday, sitting out a half-inning while Tim Mayza faced hitters. Cortes said an hour later he felt normal pain.

Cortes has been out since September 18 due to strain in his throwing elbow flexor. The 29-year-old left-hander ran to the mound from the bullpen, his likely role in the series.

“I expect that decision to be made, for sure, or at least to be considered,” he said.

The Yankees are debating whether to have 13 pitchers on their 26-man World Series roster. New York had 12 pitchers and 14 position players for the AL Championship Series against Cleveland after playing with 11 pitchers and 15 position players for the Division Series against Kansas City. The World Series roster must be submitted to Major League Baseball by 10 a.m. PDT Friday, approximately 10 hours before the first game.

“If he’s going to be added, we’ll probably have to be at 13,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “It would be difficult to add him with any type of restrictions and take a pitcher away. We definitely can’t run him like some of the other guys in the bullpen.

Cortes made one relief outing during the season, his first since 2021. He followed Clarke Schmidt and pitched 4 1/3 innings in a 2–0 victory against the Chicago Cubs on September 7.

Los Angeles features left-hander Shohei Ohtani at leadoff, right-hander Mookie Betts at second and left-hander Freddie Freeman at third, although Freeman’s status is unclear due to an ankle injury.

“There will be a point where either Game 1 or Game 2 where there will be a left-handed role for me or a left-handed role,” Cortes said. “If I throw four to eight pitches, I might be ready to go the next day.”

Ohtani is 2 for 12 against Cortes with a pair of singles, an RBI and a strikeout.

“I never throw changeups to lefties, but I probably will throw changeups under these circumstances,” Cortes said. “I’m going to have to bring out the kitchen sink on him and not just on him, but on every other lefty that they have in this lineup.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman initially doubted Cortes would return. Cortes lobbied for inclusion in the Division Series and League Championship Series.

“The conversations were very clear,” Cortes said. “The money wasn’t available from the start and he obviously knows that I want to be part of this, even in the DS, starting with the DS, but it wasn’t realistic.”

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