Padres’ Nestor Cortes experiment ends the only way it could — on the IL

What the San Diego Padres hoped would be a low-risk, high-reward gamble down the stretch has ended in the most predictable way imaginable, another trip to the injured list for Nestor Cortes. And with just weeks left in the regular season, it’s fair to wonder if Padres fans have seen the last of him in a San Diego uniform.

Cortes was officially placed on the 15-day injured list on September 5 with left biceps tendinitis, just weeks after being activated from the 60-day IL for a left elbow flexor strain, a lingering issue he initially suffered while with the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this season. While the team has categorized the biceps flare-up as a “short-term issue,” no official timetable has been given for his return, and time is not on their side.

Nestor Cortes’ Padres stint likely over after latest injury setback

It’s a different injury, but the same story, and the same arm. Cortes threw just two games for Milwaukee at the beginning of the season before hitting the shelf with the elbow strain that derailed most of his 2025 campaign. By the time the Padres acquired him at the trade deadline in early August, the hope was that Cortes was healthy and ready to contribute meaningful innings in the No. 5 spot of a playoff-hunting rotation. Instead, San Diego got six uneven starts, a 1–3 record, and a 5.47 ERA over 26.1 innings before his body broke down once again.

This isn’t uncharted territory for the southpaw. Injuries have been a frustrating theme throughout Cortes’ career. He’s managed a full season just twice over the last four years, and both stints in Milwaukee and San Diego this year have been marked by early exits, either from starts or from the roster altogether.

To make matters worse, his replacement isn’t a significant upgrade, but it might be a more reliable one. With Cortes shelved, the Padres are expected to reinsert Randy Vasquez into the rotation. Vasquez was never fully removed from the picture, but now steps back into the No. 5 role by default. His 4–6 record and 3.91 ERA won’t blow anyone away, but he’s given the Padres a chance most nights. He doesn’t miss many bats (just 62 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings) and he’s not a workhorse, but in a rotation searching for stability behind Nick Pivetta and Dylan Cease on a good night, he might be the most trustworthy option left.

The Padres also acquired JP Sears at the deadline in a move that was supposed to shore up the back end of the staff. But between Sears’ inconsistencies and Cortes’ injuries, it feels like the back end of San Diego’s rotation might be held together with duct tape heading into the most critical stretch of the season.

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