Mariano Rivera says he has tried to teach people how to throw his cut fastball but he can't because it is a gift from God that he can't explain.

Now everybody throws a cutter, and the more they throw them, the better you can make adjustments. Your brain learns how to lay off the tough ones that are in on you.

It was fellow Cuban Odrisamer Despaigne, who pitched for five big league clubs from 2014-19, who instructed Cortes on how to throw a cutter.

More than one organization has banned the cutter at one time or another. But it's barely one pitch, and you probably wouldn't want to have banned Mariano Rivera from throwing that pitch. Turns out ...

Alex Speier How learning to throw the cutter changed everything for Nathan Eovaldi By Alex Speier Globe Staff,August 14, 2018, 4:05 p.m.

As he tries to compete for the fifth spot in the Yankees’ rotation, Clarke Schmidt has a new weapon in his back pocket.