Bellinger returns to Yankees lineup
Cody Bellinger was back in the New York Yankees' lineup on Sunday, activated from the injured list after missing 25 games with a strained left hamstring. The outfielder batted fourth and started in left field for the first time since July 25 in Philadelphia, according to multiple reports, including the Associated Press.
Bellinger's return came after he played two minor league rehab games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, including six innings in left field on Friday. Manager Aaron Boone said before the game that Bellinger had "a pretty good rehab process" and had been "tested well enough the last two nights," adding, "I feel like he's ready to roll."
In Sunday's series finale against the Blue Jays, Bellinger went 1-for-4 in New York's 4-3 win over Toronto. He struck out twice with a runner on base before hitting a single off Brendon Little and scoring on Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s two-run homer in the seventh inning.
"I felt all right," Bellinger said. "I felt I was a little jumpy early on and in that fourth at-bat I was able to settle down a little bit."
Boone noted the improvement: "I think he was expanding a little bit early, and then he got into a 3-1 count against a tough lefty to square it up against and smokes the ball up the middle. So that was good to see. A good way for him to kind of finish in his first game back."
Injury background and roster moves
Bellinger suffered a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring while running the bases following a double on July 25 at Citizens Bank Park. The Yankees said at the time he would miss four to six weeks. He was placed on the injured list the next day.
To make room for Bellinger, utility player Max Schuemann was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Schuemann was hitting .194 in 42 games for the Yankees and had been recalled Friday when Ryan McMahon went on the IL with a sprained left thumb.
The same day, the Yankees placed left-hander Ryan Weathers on the 15-day injured list with a left forearm flexor strain. Weathers exited his start Saturday against the Blue Jays in the fourth inning due to left forearm discomfort. Right-hander Brendan Beck was recalled from Triple-A.
The Yankees' injury news was not limited to the roster moves. The New York Post reported that Giancarlo Stanton had again strained a calf, and that Max Fried threw a 26-pitch bullpen session, his first since going on the IL with a recurrence of an elbow bone bruise. Boone said Fried's session went well, with the team weighing whether his next step would be live batting practice or another side session.
Season context and performance
Bellinger enters the stretch run hitting .259 with 11 homers and 53 RBIs in 103 games. He batted .228 in the first month after Aaron Judge went down with a stress fracture in his right rib, but was hitting .362 over his last 13 games before the injury, though he is on a 32-game homerless streak, the second-longest of his career.
After batting .272 with 29 homers and 98 RBIs last season, Bellinger re-signed with the Yankees last winter for $162.5 million over five years. He was the MVP of the All-Star Game on July 14 in Philadelphia.
During Bellinger's absence, the Yankees went 14-11 and entered Sunday three games behind the Rays in the AL East. New acquisition Heliot Ramos started 15 games in Bellinger's absence and is likely to see time in right field against left-handed starters. The New York Post noted that the outfield has shifted with Spencer Jones' emergence, with Ramos mostly in left and Jones mostly in right, and that a right field platoon could form until Judge returns. Boone said "wait and see" on how the outfield will line up.
Looking ahead
Bellinger's return adds a key bat to the Yankees' lineup for the final weeks of the season. As Bellinger said, "For me, [I want to] come in, help the team win as much as I can and play my best ball."
The Yankees and Blue Jays split the first two games of the series, and Sunday's game also featured Carlos Rodon making his first home start since coming off the IL with elbow inflammation. Rodon lasted a 1-2-3 first inning, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lining out to deep center. The Yankees faced Toronto right-hander Jose Soriano, who had a 2.22 ERA over his last five starts.