The Milwaukee Brewers are in The Bronx to face the New York Yankees for a season-opening series. What would normally be a regular interleague matchup has a bizarre offseason twist. The two teams hooked up on a trade that sent Devin Williams to the Yankees. The Brewers got Nestor Cortes Jr as part of the return, and Christian Yelich was asked his thoughts on the pitcher’s bizarre delivery.
“He’s unique, obviously,” Yelich told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “Hitting is timing, so his thing is disrupting your timing. But, not everybody can do that.”
Cortes will take the hill for the first time with the Brewers on Saturday at Yankee Stadium. When he was introduced with Milwaukee’s pitchers on Opening Day, he got a solid hand from The Bronx faithful. But now, the lineup will face their old friend after an Opening Day victory.
On Opening Day, the Yankees entered the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead. That brought Williams in for his first appearance as a Bomber against his former team. He struggled, allowing a run and facing the tying run at the plate, but did secure the save. Now, the second member of the trade will toe the slab in the series.
The Brewers need healthy years from Christian Yelich and Nestor Cortes
Yelich told McCalvy he was grateful that Cortes didn’t dish out any wild windups in his first bullpen against him. It was one of the first times Yelich faced live pitching since July. He left the Brewers’ game against the Cubs on July 23 and never returned. After surgery, he is back in the lineup.
The Brewers still made the playoffs without Yelich last year but were bounced by the New York Mets. They lost Williams and shortstop Willy Adames from the roster and did not do much to replace them. But that has been the story of the Brewers in recent years, as they can replace talent with young prospects very well.
But without Adames and Williams, they have taken a step back on paper. In the same offseason, the Cubs made the biggest trade of the winter. Kyle Tucker is in a contract year and should dominate the division from the Windy City. It will be tough for the Brewers to make the playoffs this year, but their development process gives them a chance.
The Brewers and Yankees restart their series with Cortes on the hill on Saturday.
The post Brewers’ Christian Yelich gets 100% real on new teammate Nestor Cortes appeared first on ClutchPoints.
