The New York Yankees, who’ve had new injuries repeatedly pop up this season as if they’re playing a game of Whac-A-Mole, will welcome the imminent return of three-time All-Star Cody Bellinger. The outfielder told reporters in the Bronx on Saturday that he’ll be activated for Sunday’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays.
It’s expected to be his first outing with the Yankees since he suffered a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring on July 25. He experienced the setback while running the bases after hitting a double in the eighth inning of a road victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Bellinger is coming off his second minor-league rehab game for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Although he went hitless for the RailRiders on Friday, he saw action in left field. The previous day, he notched a single as the team’s designated hitter.
“I’m very excited,” Bellinger said Saturday, when discussing rejoining the Yankees’ lineup, per MLB.com.
He added: “I feel good. I’m ready to go.”
When Bellinger sustained his hamstring injury, he accompanied sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list. New York manager Aaron Boone said the 31-year-old Bellinger would miss four to six weeks.
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If he indeed takes the field for the Yankees on Sunday, it will have been a bit more than four weeks since his last major-league appearance.
Bellinger, this year’s All-Star Game MVP, is currently slashing .259/.350/.420 with 11 home runs and 53 RBI. Now in his second season with the Yankees, Bellinger is six years removed from winning it all with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He’ll try to help Boone’s squad make a push for the AL East title and for the franchise’s first World Series ring since 2009.
“For me, [I want to] come in, help the team win as much as I can and play my best ball,” Bellinger said, according to MLB.com.
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His presence will be appreciated, especially as Judge continues to work his way back from a stress fracture in his ribs and Stanton deals with a new calf injury that’s jeopardizing his 2026 campaign.
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