Padres announce Nestor Cortes' activation, fan favorite pitcher optioned to minors

The San Diego Padres swung five deals at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. Most have already made their Padres debuts, with Mason Miller, Ryan O'Hearn, Ramon Laureano, and Freddy Fermin getting their chances already.

But, aside from Will Wagner, who's in Triple-A, and JP Sears, who's yet to get a start, the Padres have yet to see Nestor Cortes make his debut. However, the Padres announced a roster move, which has Cortes one step away from making his debut.

We have optioned RHP Randy Vásquez to Triple-A El Paso, reinstated LHP Nestor Cortes from the 60-Day IL and reported him to the major league team.

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 3, 2025

The Padres activated Cortes off the 60-day injured list, and to open a spot on the MLB roster for him, they optioned fan favorite starting pitcher Randy Vasquez down to Triple-A El Paso. 

This season, Vasquez has a 3.93 ERA, 55 strikeouts, a 3-5 record, 48 walks allowed, and a 1.39 WHIP in 22 starts. His latest start, where he went four innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits against the St. Louis Cardinals, was his last before this move.

Taking his place on the MLB roster is Cortes, whom they traded for at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. This season, Cortes has a 9.00 ERA in two starts, but those happened at the start of the year and aren't an accurate representation of his performance.

MORE: Padres pull off blockbuster trade for Athletics' Mason Miller

His first outing was a two-inning disaster against the New York Yankees, his former team, during the weekend the torpedo bats took Major League Baseball by storm. His second outing was a six-inning scoreless win over the Cincinnati Reds.

The 30-year-old left-handed starter is coming off a 3.77 ERA 2024 season across 30 starts for the Yankees. He's a solid veteran presence in the rotation for the Padres, and while he's not the best starter, he has a much better resume than Vasquez.

Cortes is a former All-Star rental starting pitcher who is making $7.6 million this season. He is taking the place of his former Yankee teammate on the Padres MLB roster after being dealt to San Diego at the trade deadline.

As Vasquez heads back to the minor leagues, Cortes takes his spot in the starting rotation. The Padres' fan favorite will spend some time in the minors, while the trade deadline pickup will get his first chance as a Padres starter, likely in the Boston Red Sox series.

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