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Nestor Cortes is on track to possibly be added to the New York Yankees roster if they advance to the World Series.

Cortes was to throw batting practice Wednesday at Yankee Stadium before New York headed to Cleveland with a 2-0 lead in the American League Championship Series. The 29-year-old left-hander hasn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 18 because of a flexor strain in his pitching elbow.

“I think he’s at least a realistic option,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Not saying for sure, but the timeline lines up to where if things go well, he could definitely be an option.”

Cortes is 9-10 with a 3.77 ERA. He could throw batting practice again this weekend, giving the Yankees time to evaluate him before the World Series starts on Oct. 22 or 25.

“He’s got steps to go, and he’s got to continue to feel good and bounce back and things like that,” Boone said, “but the way it’s gone to this point has been encouraging.”

New York and Cleveland resume their best-of-seven series on Thursday.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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As the National League Championship Series shifts to New York, so does MLB on FOX analyst John Smoltz, who’ll be in Queens to continue covering an even series between the Dodgers and Mets.

Before Game 3, the Hall of Fame pitcher shared his thoughts on a Dodgers Game 2 bullpen game that unraveled on them, what makes Sean Manaea and Game 3 starter Luis Severino so productive this year, whether he’d move Shohei Ohtani out of the leadoff spot, if he thinks certain players are built specifically for October, what’s impressed him most through two games and more.

Kavner: Through two games, who do you think has the upper hand right now between the Dodgers and the Mets? 

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Smoltz: The advantage, for sure, goes to the Mets and the starting pitching. That’s kind of an obvious, just because of what the Dodgers don’t have. But it all comes down to, this series and the past series, especially with the Dodgers, a lot of it has been determined through four innings. And if you think about baseball being played in the regular season, that was never the case. You would be a little more patient. I think the Dodgers are in a position now to really use leverage guys if they are up early, and they won’t wait around to get anybody in trouble. 

Now, what happened in Game 2 was not the protocol they were hoping for. But you think about what both teams did, it wasn’t really a typical starter for either team. Game 1 for the Mets, you could say they used a starter, but he wasn’t going to go more than two or three innings. He didn’t have it. The game got out of hand. For the Dodgers, I think the fact that the way they were going to have to use their bullpen, if the score was different, maybe they use higher leverage guys in situations that they didn’t use because the score got out of hand. So, you’re really seeing managerial decisions based on the early — or lack thereof — execution by both clubs. 

Kavner: It seemed like Dave Roberts had been pushing all the right buttons in terms of pitching matchups this postseason. Did you like the decision to go with a bullpen game for Game 2, and were you surprised that the Dodgers saved their best arms once they fell behind? 

Smoltz: I think I was surprised a little bit by the order. If they would’ve lost Game 1, I think the order would’ve changed, and I don’t think you would have seen that scenario play out. Now, you’re hoping Landon Knack does his thing. He didn’t, and the grand slam broke the game open. That changed the whole narrative of how and who he used after that. So, I think that they didn’t have the full resources. Of course, they’ve lost Alex Vesia, which hurts, and they probably didn’t have a couple of guys that weren’t ready based on using them the day before. 

So, that’s the problem the Dodgers face. Now you have three games in a row where they have to use their leverage guys, and they’re hoping to use them in winning situations, and not just to keep it close. That’s the nightmare for the Dodgers. Now, on the flip side, their offense can take care of a lot of things if they do their thing, but the Mets are going to have something to say about that with Luis Severino, Jose Quintana. They got their guys ready to go to battle a totally different strategic game than what the Dodgers are going to be playing. 

Kavner: We at least know the starters for the next two games: Walker Buehler versus Luis Severino and Yoshinobu Yamamoto versus Jose Quintana. When looking at those two matchups specifically, who do you think has the advantage? 

Smoltz: What the Mets have been able to do is show that they were a pretty darn good starting staff in the second half. They stayed healthy; they got it done; they’ve got guys on a roll. You know, the postseason is a different monster. You still got to be able to go out and execute your pitches. And I think with Severino, he’s one of the most dynamic arms in all of baseball. When he’s healthy, he could do some pretty incredible things. He has every weapon to get any hitter out. And I think for the Mets, they’re going to rely heavily on that, and they’re going to rely on the calm, cool, left-handed, not-throwing-hard pitcher in Jose Quintana. I think he’s an under-the-radar-pitcher that nobody really pays attention to until he goes to a streak that he’s been through in this year. 

On the flip side, the Dodgers are going to have two pitchers that when they’re healthy, they’re equally as dominant as these two pitchers we’re talking about. Buehler, now on the second time having Tommy John, he’s just a tick off, and we saw what Yamamoto can do when he’s healthy. Now, the challenge is going to be, do they pitch him at a rest that’s not typically the normal rest that he is used to? I think they have to, and I think that this last game gives them confidence in what he’s able to do. 

Kavner: We saw Sean Manaea carve through the Dodgers lineup with his lowered arm slot. Is it that simple, as far as what makes him such a difficult matchup right now? Does another Mets starter pose as great of a threat?

Smoltz: I think the biggest thing for Manaea, my goodness, he’s got that fastball that hitters just don’t see because the arm angle throws across his body. Now, what Severino does, he has three different fastballs. He’s got the two-seamer, the fastball, the four-seamer, and then the cutter. And I think the ability to manipulate the baseball on both lanes and both sides of the plate is what makes him so difficult. And if he stays out of the middle, then he’s going to be a tough, tough out. And I think that’s the one dynamic when he first broke into the league, 98 mph fastball that has two different movements to it. Man, that is such a luxury, and he’s showing, when he’s healthy, what kind of pitcher he can be. 

Kavner: In light of Shohei Ohtani‘s dramatic splits with runners in scoring position compared to when no one is on, would you consider moving him down in the lineup or keep him in the leadoff spot? 

Smoltz: You got to keep him there just because of the threat. When he gets on base with nobody on, he’s going to be an absolute beast. We haven’t seen the running game because he’s always hitting with people in scoring position when he’s doing his damage. So, yeah, you leave him there. You know that this is just a numerical oddity, and you think it’s going to turn and when it does turn, it will certainly bode well for the Dodgers.

Kavner: Sticking with some numerical oddities, I know we’ve seen some guys who seem to thrive this time of year while others who might be superstars struggle. Do you think there are certain players who are built for October, or is that just a year-to-year, small-sample deal that will always fluctuate? 

Smoltz: I know everybody that is in the business of stats wants to put an absolute on things. You can’t do that when it comes to the postseason. There are guys whose heartbeat, whose mind, whose concentration goes to the next level, that just doesn’t do so in the regular season. And some people say that when you float the regular season, you kind of go through the long battle, then, all of a sudden, you get in a lockdown and think about things differently. And so, there is such a thing as clutch. I know that’s a hard thing to quantify for people, but there is such a thing. And guys are built differently. 

The guys who are kind of more ADD, that seems to lock them in the postseason versus the entirety of a season. It’s just a hyper focus, and then there’s a heartbeat, and a heartbeat gets faster when there’s pressure and there are games that matter a little bit more, and you’re asked questions. You’ve got to be able to handle the narratives of all the things that come with the postseason that aren’t rightfully fair. You just have to learn how to deal with that and be in the moment, present, and not afraid to fail. You would be shocked how many people are afraid to fail because of the notoriety. Everyone wants to be known for something great. They don’t want to be known for something bad, like, “How could you make that play? How could you drop that ball? How did you strike out five times in a row?” 

Those are the things that get magnified. So, 100 percent, there are guys who historically can come up big that normally, maybe in the regular season, they’re just kind of average. And I think that’s the human nature, and that’s the beauty of the postseason that everyone wants to quantify, but can’t really grasp. How does that happen? 

Kavner: Finally, I know we’re excited to see what could be a lengthy series. But through two games, has anything in particular surprised or impressed you from either side?

Smoltz: The Dodgers’ ability to respond. All the pressure in the world’s on them. If I’m the Mets, I’m going to keep putting as much pressure on them. But the thing that has surprised me is not that the Dodgers are built differently, but this attitude, like, we know that all the pressure’s on us, but we’re going to find a way to win. That’s not a Dodger model that was in spring training. The Dodger model was, “We are better than you. We’re built better than you. We got stars, we got studs, and we’re going to roll.” They put together an incredible team, and I think it’s an interesting dynamic now, going all the way back to Game 4 against the Padres, where there were so many stories being ready to be written that had to be thrown away. 

And so there’s a little bit of that attitude that I know Dave Roberts likes, and you match that with the unprecedented, unexplainable New York Mets‘ journey, where they’re sitting there with their chest out going, “You know what, nothing’s going to bother us. We’ve already been through the car washing.” I know that’s an intangible, but I think it’s something that you wouldn’t associate with the Dodgers, fair or not, because of their roster and their payroll. It’s not part of their DNA. It’s like, they’re just better, and now they’re having to deal with things that other teams are going, “Yeah, see, guess what? We got to deal with that, but we don’t have the reserves and the quantity. Good luck doing that.” 

I’m interested in that mindset of how they come out in Game 3. What do they do if they fall behind? And we’ve seen a special sauce that both teams have in different routes, different ways to get it done.

John Smoltz, a first-ballot Baseball Hall of Famer, eight-time All-Star and National League Cy Young Award winner, is FOX MLB’s lead game analyst. In addition to calling the network’s marquee regular-season games, Smoltz is in the booth for the All-Star Game and a full slate of postseason matchups which include Division Series, League Championship Series and World Series assignments.

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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As the MLB season draws to a close, the spotlight shines on the league’s finest defensive players with the announcement of the Gold Glove finalists. Celebrating exceptional skill and athleticism, these awards honor those who have consistently demonstrated outstanding fielding excellence at their respective positions. Winners are set to be awarded on ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight” on November 3rd at 8:30 p.m. ET. Both leagues will have three finalists at each position. 

2024 MLB Gold Glove Award Finalists

American League

Pitcher

Catcher

First Base

Second Base

Third Base

Shortstop

Left Field

Center Field

Right Field

Utility

National League

Pitcher

Catcher

First Base

Second Base

Third Base

Shortstop

Left Field

Center Field

Right Field

Utility

What is the MLB Gold Glove Award?

The Rawlings Gold Glove Awards recognizes the top individual fielding performances for each position in both the American League and National League.

To identify the winners for the nine standard positions, all 30 MLB managers, along with up to six coaches from each team, cast votes for players within their league, excluding those from their own roster. These votes account for 75% of the final selection, while the SABR Defensive Index contributes the remaining 25%.

For the utility position, Rawlings partnered with SABR to develop a unique defensive formula that operates independently of the standard selection process.

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NEW YORK — Typically, when Aaron Judge connects on a high fastball, there is little doubt about how far it will go, and where it will land. But lately, the results of his at-bats haven’t been as much of a foregone conclusion. 

Not only was the Bronx crowd unsure whether Judge’s fly ball would go out as it traveled toward the deepest part of Yankee Stadium in the seventh inning Tuesday night, even his own teammate of seven years wasn’t convinced. Gleyber Torres, who was on base with a single, tagged up at first as the entire stadium held its breath. By the time the ball landed beyond the wall, Judge had already caught up to Torres at first base, barely a step or two behind him. He let Torres start jogging before beginning his home run trot.

“He did that this year earlier, too, so I was pretty pissed then,” Judge quipped of Torres tagging up. “I was pretty pissed again. … You never know, when it’s windy like this, what the ball is going to do in center field. He’s trying to get into scoring position. So I let this one slide.”

First baseman Anthony Rizzo joked that he expected better from Torres.

“I’m a little disappointed in Gleyber for not knowing Judge’s pop there,” Rizzo said while smirking. “We were ribbing him a lot about that. It’s a big swing for Judgey. He’s had really good at-bats and come up in big situations. To get the home run, it was a really easy swing, and he’s the best in the business at that.”

Judge’s two-run shot in the seventh inning of the Yankees‘ 6-3 win over the Guardians marked his first home run of this postseason. Before Tuesday night, his last playoff home run was in Game 5 of the 2022 ALDS — also against Cleveland. He had gone 35 postseason at-bats without a homer, and boy would the Yankees be thrilled if the worst is finally behind him. 

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The Yankees captain entered Game 2 of the American League Championship Series batting .133 (2-for-15) with a .564 OPS and just one RBI across five playoff games this fall. This wasn’t the first time in his career he went from being a nuisance in the regular season to a lesser concern in the playoffs. After crushing 62 home runs in an MVP season in 2022, Judge went 5-for-36 with three RBIs and two walks over nine games that October. Until he got the monkey off his back Tuesday night, Judge’s playoff slide had reached the point where even the opposing team wasn’t so afraid of the mighty slugger.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt went so far as to pull the ultimate insult in the second inning when he opted to intentionally walk Juan Soto to load the bases for Judge. The decision seemed to bewilder Judge’s teammates in the Yankees dugout. Anthony Volpe waved his arms in front of him and declared, “No way! No way!” Jazz Chisholm stared into Cleveland’s dugout with wide eyes, in apparent disbelief. 

“That’s super disrespectful,” Chisholm told FOX Sports of intentionally walking Soto ahead of Judge. “It’s Soto, we understand he’s playing great and everything. I mean, I would walk Soto in any other situation. But it’s an insult there.”

Left-hander Nestor Cortes added: “That’s crazy. You’re intentionally walking Soto to pitch to the MVP.”

Judge, who responded by hitting a sacrifice fly to center field and padded New York’s lead to 3-0 in the process, downplayed Cleveland’s decision. He said he didn’t take it personally and joked that he “would probably walk Soto, too, at this point.” But Judge’s teammate Oswaldo Cabrera told FOX Sports he thought the intentional walk to Soto might have woken Judge up. Cabrera believes Judge wants those types of moments to remind himself he’s the captain of the Yankees and provide another edge to his at-bats.

Judge being woken up out of his postseason slumber should petrify opposing teams, particularly because the Yankees were managing just fine without him hitting the cover off of the ball. The Bronx Bombers comfortably dismissed the Royals in the ALDS, and they had a 4-2 lead against Cleveland on Tuesday before Judge raised the decibel level in the seventh inning. Though he has helped out and has had better swings and productive at-bats, New York has now cruised to a 2-0 lead in the ALCS against the Guardians without Judge’s heroics. 

That is to say, Judge is warming up at exactly the right time. If the Yankees take care of business the rest of this series — and all signs are flashing that they will — then they will need the monster, MVP version of Judge to win against more potent offenses in the World Series. The National League Championship Series features two more formidable lineups than Cleveland’s, and whichever team comes out of that alive knows it will need to mash against the Juan Soto and Judge-powered Yankees. 

“Always a matter of time with Aaron,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Definitely good to see him put one in the seats and really give us a cushion there.”

The Guardians, Dodgers and Mets can only hope Judge is not just getting started.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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Aaron Judge hit a two-run drive into Monument Park for his first home run of this postseason, and the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 AL Championship Series lead.

Judge, who entered with just one RBI in the playoffs, hit a sacrifice fly in a two-run second that put the Yankees ahead 3-0. With New York leading 4-2 in the seventh, the likely AL MVP drove a fastball at the letters from Hunter Gaddis 414 feet to center for his 14th career postseason home run.

In a matchup of aces who had off nights, Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee got just four outs in the shortest start of his professional career and an erratic Gerrit Cole was chased after four walks in 4 1/3 innings.

Winner Clay Holmes, Tim Hill and Tommy Kahnle combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings. José Ramírez hit a ninth-inning home run off Luke Weaver, just the second earned run New York’s bullpen has allowed over 23 1/3 innings in six postseason games.

After a day off, Game 3 is Thursday in Cleveland. The Yankees lead the ALCS 2-0 for the first time since 2009 against the Los Angeles Angels.

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New York’s Gleyber Torres reached base leading off for the fifth time in the playoffs and had three hits. Anthony Rizzo had two hits and is 3-for-7 in two games since returning from a pair of fractured fingers that caused him to miss the Division Series.

Rookie shortstop Brayan Rocchio and right fielder Will Brennan committed run-scoring errors for the Guardians.

Rocchio dropped Judge’s first-inning popup, allowing Torres to score. After Cleveland closed to 3-2, Brennan bobbled the ball when he tried for a barehand pickup of Rizzo’s sixth-inning double that caromed off the low wall down the right-field line. Anthony Volpe, who had been on first, sprinted home.

Steven Kwan extended his Cleveland-record postseason hitting streak to 12 games.

Alex Verdugo had an opposite-field RBI double in the two-run second that glanced off a shoulder of left field umpire Vic Carapazza and went down the line.

Cleveland closed to 3-2 in the fifth when Josh Naylor hit a sacrifice fly and, after Holmes relieved with the bases loaded, Will Brennan grounded into a run-scoring forceout.

Cleveland went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.

Cole escaped two-on, one-out trouble in the third and then a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the fourth when pinch-hitter David Fry fouled out and Rocchio took a knuckle curve at the top of the strike zone for a called third strike in a nine-pitch at-bat.

Holmes struck out Austin Hedges on a low sinker to leave the bases loaded in the fifth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb was removed from the roster with a lower back strain sustained in the opener and replaced by RHP Ben Lively.

UP NEXT

Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt starts Thursday at Cleveland. He allowed two runs and four hits over 4 2/3 innings in Division Series Game 3, wasting a 2-0 lead before New York won 3-2. He faced the Guardians once this year, pitching five scoreless innings before allowing a pair of runs — one unearned — in the sixth inning of a 3-2 victory.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Pitcher Alex Cobb was dropped from the Cleveland Guardians AL Championship Series roster after getting hurt in Tuesday’s Game 1 and was replaced Tuesday by fellow right-hander Ben Lively, the team’s winningest pitcher during the regular season.

Cobb left Monday’s 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees after 2 2/3 innings because of hip tightness and a back spasm. Cobb is ineligible to pitch for the remainder of the postseason.

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Lively, a 32-year-old right-hander, was 13-10 with a 3.81 ERA in 29 starts. He last pitched Sept. 28 against Houston on the next-to-last day of the regular season.

Cobb dropped to 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA in the playoffs, making just his fifth start in a year limited by injuries. A 2023 All-Star, he had hip surgery on Oct. 31 and hadn’t yet returned to the mound when he was acquired by Cleveland fromSan Francisco at the July 30 trade deadline.

He made his season debut Aug. 9 and was sidelined after two games by a torn nail on his right index finger. He didn’t allow an earned run over six innings in his Sept. 1 return against Pittsburgh, then went back on the injured list with a blister on his right middle finger that ended his regular season.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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