Cortes, who was dealing with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow, said he'd be willing to risk further injury to pitch in the World Series.

Throughout the playoffs and for much of the regular season, the Yankees lacked a reliever whose primary goal was to get strikeouts. Cortes fits that bill, and as a lefty, he could prove to be the Yankees’ best threat against Ohtani, the likely National League MVP after hitting 54 home runs and stealing 59 bases as a designated hitter.