Nestor Cortes to suit up for Team USA in World Baseball Classic 2023; fans erupt on Twitter

After donning the famous Yankee pinstripes during the MLB season, 'Nasty' Nestor Cortes will now don the red, white, and blue in next year's World Baseball Classic.

The announcement of Nestor Cortes' inclusion coincided with the kickoff of the United States men's soccer team's FIFA World Cup game against Iran. The team eventually won 1-0 to progress to the knockout rounds of the competition. This, needless to say, could be a memorable day for sports fans across the country.

Team USA fans took to Twitter to express their excitement about the universally beloved Cortes.

The loveable 27-year-old New York Yankees hurler was born in Surgidero de Batabano in Cuba. However, he relocated stateside after his father won a visa lottery, bringing the seven-month-old Nestor and the family to Hialeah, Florida.

Cortes grew up in the city and played on Hialeah High School's baseball team before eventually committing to play for Florida International University's baseball team. That wouldn't happen though, as he was selected by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

Nasty Nestor Cortes boosts Team USA pitching staff

Just moments after the reveal, it was also announced that the team will include St. Louis Cardinals stalwart Adam Wainwright and Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merill Kelly. They will be supported from the bullpen by Baltimore's Dillon Tate, Milwaukee's Devin Williams, and Pittsburgh's David Bednar.

Their offensive firepower includes Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts, and NL MVP Goldshmidt. However, the team's pitching crew leaves a lot to be desired at the moment.

Team USA will kickoff their title defense on March 11, 2023, against Great Britain. They have been placed in Pool C and will have a relatively easy group that includes the aforementioned Team GB, Mexico, Canada, and Colombia. All the games from this pool will be played at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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