Cortes was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left groin strain Thursday, retroactive to Aug. 22.
Since Cortes' move to the injured list was backdated to Monday, he'll be eligible to return as early as Sept. 6. However, it's not yet clear how much time the Yankees expect him to miss. Greg Weissert was called up as part of a corresponding move, but it's possible that Clarke Schmidt claims a spot in the starting rotation until Cortes is cleared to return.