The Yankees placed Cortes on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a left elbow flexor strain.
The loss of Cortes is a big blow to the Yankees' pitching depth just ahead of the postseason, especially after the lefty had submitted a 1.58 ERA over his last 40 innings. He will be eligible for activation Oct. 7 if the Yankees have him replace another injured player, but Cortes is more likely to remain out of the entirety of the ALDS, and possibly longer. Marcus Stroman will fill Cortes' spot in the rotation Wednesday versus the Orioles.