Jorge Cortés

Note: This page links to Jorge Cortés, the minor league outfielder from 1998-2008. For the minor league pitcher in 2003 also known as Jorge Cortez, click here.

Jorge Luis Cortés

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.

• Born October 17, 1980 in Barranquilla Colombia

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Jorge Cortés was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an undrafted free agent in 1997. Playing for Montalban in the 1998 Venezuelan Summer League, he hit .298/~.448/.468. The next year, he was assigned to the GCL Pirates and had a .301/~.383/.366 season.

In 2000, Jorge began a three-year run with the Williamsport Crosscutters. He batted .202/.289/.335 the first year, then .254/.329/.386 the next and finally .328/.426/.427 in 2002. That season, he also hit .254/.343/.390 for the Hickory Crawdads. Cortés led the New York-Penn League in hits (83) and OBP, was third in batting average and made the NY-P League All-Star team. Still just 21, he was not exactly old by short-season A ball standards.

2003 was Jorge's best year to date as he hit .325/.427/.475 for the Crawdads, had 21 outfield assists on the year and batted .264/.315/.333 in 37 games for the Lynchburg Hillcats. He was second in the South Atlantic League in average (trailing Chaz Lytle, led the league in OBP, made the All-Star team and was named MVP in 2003.

In 2004, Cortés batted .292/.385/.435 in Lynchburg and .288/.344/.489 for the Altoona Curve. He appeared in that year's Futures Game, going 0 for 2 and scoring one run. A year later, his line read .259/.349/.364 only for Altoona.

Let go by Pittsburgh, he was signed by the Houston Astros and began the 2006 season with the Corpus Christi Hooks by going 0 for 19. He bounced back and from May 7 through July 7, reached base in 55 consecutive games (including a 27-game hitting streak, tied for longest in the US-based minors that year) and stood at .313/.383/.456 after 93 games before finishing at .293/.366/.427.

In 2007, he joined the Chicago Cubs system. Cortés hit .293/.394/.376 in 112 games for the 2007 Tennessee Smokies and played his first 8 games in AAA, going 2 for 6 with 3 walks and a double for the Iowa Cubs. He finished 7th in the Southern League in OBP. He joined the Navegantes del Magallanes for the winter season and hit .319/.421/.416. He returned to Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent in January of 2008.

Cortés became a coach with the Hillsboro Hops in 2017, Kane County Cougars in 2018, and Jackson Generals in 2019. He was scheduled to return to Jackson as a bench coach in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Cortes was coach of the Reno Aces in 2021. He then became a manager with the Visalia Rawhide in 2022 and ACL Diamondbacks Red in 2023. Cortés moved to the Texas Rangers' chain as development coach of the Down East Wood Ducks in 2024.

In addition to his work in the D'backs organization, Cortés has some international coaching experience. During the 2022/2023 Venezuelan League season he served as the third base coach for the Tiburones de La Guaira. He followed that by serving as hitting coach for Colombia in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Notable Achievements

• 2003 MVP South Atlantic League Hickory Crawdads

Related Sites

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