Nestor Cortes jr traded from Yankees to Mariners from signing bonus allocation

The New York Yankees announced Monday pitcher Nestor Cortes Jr. was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for international signing bonus pool money. 

The left-hander ended 2019 with 5.67 ERA and 1.545 WHIP in 33 appearances last season, including one start. He also struck out 69 batters in 66.2 innings during his lone season in New York.

The 24-year-old came up through the Yankees system but was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2017 Rule 5 draft. He made four appearances in 2018, posting a 7.71 ERA, before being offered back to the Yankees a month into the season.

Though Cortes has struggled at the major league level, he has thrived in Triple-A, including a 3.86 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) in 2019. He had a 3.68 ERA against minor league competition in 2018 and 2.06 ERA in 2017.

Seattle will hope he can find this level of production in the majors for a team that ended 68-94 last season.

The squad ranked 23rd in baseball with a 4.99 ERA as a team last year while 18 different pitchers made at least one start.

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Meanwhile, the Yankees have really taken advantage of international bonus money in recent years. The organization spent $5.1 million to sign Jasson Dominguez last season, who was considered the No. 1 international prospect of 2019 by MLB.com.

This trade could potentially get the team closer to signing more top prospects in the future.

New York’s 2019-20 pool total increased to $5,835,800 with Monday’s trade. The Yankees have used $5,762,000 of that, including $5.1 million on Dominican outfielder Jasson Dominguez, $377,500 on Dominican third Enger Castellano and $187,500 on Venezuelan catcher Manuel Palencia.

Seattle has now spent its entire $5.37 million pool and is limited to signing bonuses of $10,000 or less for the current signing year, which ends June 15.

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