NEW YORK — Cody Bellinger is set to come off the injured list, and the Yankees are eyeing Sunday for his return. That date lines up with the finale of their weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.
The path there is short. Bellinger will begin a minor league rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and is expected to play at least two games there.
After that, the decision is simple. If Bellinger comes through the rehab games without a setback, the Yankees plan to activate him from the 10-day injured list.
The timing fits the original estimate. Bellinger has been out since July 25 with a Grade 2 strain of his left hamstring, and a Sunday return would place him near the front end of the four-to-six-week recovery window.
A weekend activation would also let the Yankees ease him back at home. Rather than rushing him into a road series, the club could slot him into a familiar setting at the Stadium, with the rivalry crowd and a controlled matchup against the Blue Jays.
Boone sets the timeline
Manager Aaron Boone laid out the plan this week. Speaking on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast, he pointed to the weekend as a real possibility for activation.
Boone said Bellinger could be back as soon as Sunday, provided the rehab games go smoothly. It was the most concrete Judge-or-Bellinger timeline the Yankees have offered in weeks.
Insiders echoed the optimism. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that a clean rehab assignment could return Bellinger to the lineup within days, and MLB.com’s Zach Warden framed the weekend as the likely window.
The injury itself was a fluke of hustle. Bellinger hurt the hamstring running out an eighth-inning double against the Philadelphia Phillies, then landed on the injured list the following day.
The August void Bellinger is walking into
Here is the context that makes this return matter more than a routine activation. While Bellinger has been out, the Yankees have fielded the worst offense in baseball by one key measure.
New York ranked last in the majors in runs scored during the month of August. The timing of Bellinger’s injury, layered on top of the absences of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, drained the lineup of its margin.
Bellinger’s profile is a direct answer to that drought. He gives the Yankees a left-handed bat in a righty-heavy group, plus the defensive flexibility to move between center field, a corner and first base.
His pre-injury production underlines the loss. Bellinger was hitting .259 with 11 home runs, 53 RBIs and a .770 OPS across 102 games, steady middle-of-the-order value the Yankees have sorely missed.
The versatility is its own asset. Bellinger’s ability to cover center field, slide to a corner or fill in at first base gives Boone room to rest other regulars and to reshape the batting order around a return that has been weeks in the making.
Part of a larger wave of returns
Bellinger is the first of several bats and arms the Yankees hope to recover. His return could be a template for the reinforcements still to come.
Judge, sidelined since May 31 with a fractured rib, has started his hitting progression and is targeting a September return. Stanton continues to rehab a right calf strain, with September roster expansion possibly easing both timelines.
The pitching staff is healing too. Clarke Schmidt, recovering from Tommy John surgery, threw off a mound this week and is being lined up for a bullpen role, joining Luis Gil and Angel Chivilli among arms working back.
Schmidt’s shift is notable. A career starter, he underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2025 and is now being pointed toward relief, a move that fits both his injury history and the Yankees’ late-season need for bullpen depth. Hard-throwing prospect Carlos Lagrange looms as another option.
The standings explain the urgency. The Yankees entered Aug. 20 at 71-55, second in the AL East and five games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays, while holding a wild-card spot in a tight postseason race.
For now, the focus is on Sunday. Bellinger heads to Triple-A this week, the Blue Jays series finale looms as his likely return, and the Yankees wait to put at least one missing bat back in the lineup. The rest of the wave is still building.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
