AL East Notes: Cortes, Rizzo, Fulmer, Morel
Nestor Cortes was set to throw what he described as a hybrid bullpen session today, telling the New York Post's Greg Joyce (X link) and other reporters that the session would consist of 10-15 pitches each in a normal bullpen and then 10-15 pitches to hitters. It is Cortes' latest step in his recovery from a flexor strain that has kept him out of action since September 18, and therefore kept him from participating in the ' playoff run. With no setbacks to date, Cortes aims to face live batters again this weekend, and is looking to be well enough to be activated for the World Series roster should New York advance to the Fall Classic.
Cortes can hope that his potential return goes as smoothly as Anthony Rizzo 's activation from the injured list, as Rizzo is thus far 3-for-7 with a walk over the first two games of the ALCS. Rizzo suffered two fractured fingers on his right hand after he was hit by a Ryan Borucki pitch on September 28, and he missed the last couple of regular-season games as well as the Yankees' ALDS matchup with the Royals. Manager Aaron Boone told Joyce and company that Rizzo is still receiving near-constant treatment from the club's medical staff in order to stay on the field.
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It was almost exactly one year ago that Michael Fulmer underwent a UCL revision surgery, which ended the right-hander's 2024 season before it even began. After a year of rehab, however, Fulmer told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford ( X link ) that he is back to throwing off a mound and "is trending well for" the start of Spring Training. Despite the injury, Fulmer still landed a contract last offseason, as the Red Sox signed him to a two-year minor league contract with the knowledge that the 2024 campaign would be a wash. Fulmer's turn towards relief pitching in 2021 yielded pretty positive results over the 2021-23 seasons, and if he finally get healthy during what has been an injury-plagued career, Fulmer is an intriguing no-risk flier for the Sox heading into next season. Christopher Morel had long been a trade target before the club finally landed him in the four-player deadline deal that sent Isaac Paredes to the Cubs. However, Morel's first two months in a Tampa uniform were a struggle, as he hit only .191/.258/.289 over 190 plate appearances. "There were signs underneath he was really unlucky in terms of the balls hit in play," Rays president of baseball ops Erik Neander told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times , in a nod to Morel's .233 BABIP for the season. Neander is still bullish on Morel's potential for 2025 and beyond, and felt that the Rays' decision to move him to second base and left field (after he'd played third base with the Cubs all season) maybe also "took a toll on him offensively." Even the trade itself might've been a factor, as Neader noted "that new environment, that first taste of it, if you donâ€TMt get off to a great start or hold it, it can be difficult. Itâ€TMs a hard thing to recover. Sometimes it takes that first offseason to come in and be familiar with that environment, to really be yourself again." There is plenty of time for the Rays to figure out a player who is under team control through the 2028 season, and who has shown flashes of his power potential over his three MLB seasons to date.In other AL East news from earlier today....Topkin had a big update on the state of Tropicana Field in the wake of Hurricane Milton, Masataka Yoshida underwent shoulder surgery , and MLBTR's Offseason Outlook series delivered entries on the Blue Jays and Orioles .
