Yankees ace Nestor Cortes says Boston rivalry has faded: "Red Sox haven't been who they are in the last couple of years"

Nestor Cortes believes the New York Yankees may have new rivals. While nothing will ever be as iconic as their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox, the hurler does believe the drama between the two sides has dwindled recently. Combine that with growing hatred between his team and both the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays and the Sox look worse for it.

Cortes said:

"It doesn't feel like what we have with Tampa now, or with Toronto now... you could argue that the Red Sox haven't been who they really are the last couple of years."

His pitching staff mate Gerrit Cole echoed that sentiment via Fox Sports:

"I can’t speak to the hatred 15, 20 years ago, but I would say there’s not much of that now. We want to beat them just as badly as we want to beat Baltimore. And even though it is more unique in the sense of the history, I’m not sure how much we carry that baggage with us."

The AL East is one of the best division in baseball, with all five teams residing with a .500 record or better. Unfortunately, the Red Sox are last at 31-31, which has the Yankees more concerned with the other three teams.

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Nestor Cortes' point about Red Sox rings true

This year, the Yankees have developed a burning hatred for the Blue Jays. Cole himself was called the biggest cheater ever by now-demoted ace Alek Manoah. The Jays took issue with Aaron Judge's home runs and accused him of cheating, too.

The Rays have been so good in recent years that the games they play with the Yankees are usually quality contests and extremely important. Naturally, a tense rivalry formed there.

With the Orioles on the come up and actually ahead of New York in the standings, they might become a strong rival for years to come, too. With young stars Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins, the AL East could be full of intense hatred for a very long time.

Nestor Cortes took a shot at the Boston Red Sox

While it might sting to hear, Nestor Cortes' point is a good one. The Red Sox and Yankees aren't the only rivals to one another anymore and with teams getting very good, it might not be that way again for a while.