NEW YORK — For two months, the Yankees have searched their lineup for a spark and come up empty. On Sunday, they finally got a familiar bat back.
The Yankees activated Cody Bellinger from the injured list for Sunday’s series finale against the Blue Jays. To clear a spot on the roster, they optioned utility man Max Schuemann to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Saturday’s loss.
Bellinger had been out since July 25, when he strained his left hamstring running the bases at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. The Yankees placed him on the injured list the next day and said they expected him back in four to six weeks. He returned near the front of that window.
He built up in the minors first. Bellinger played two rehab games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, going 1 for 3 with a single on Thursday and hitless in three at-bats on Friday while logging six innings in left field.
Bellinger says the leg is ready
The 31-year-old outfielder sounded eager when he met with reporters in the Bronx on Saturday, a day before his return. He wanted to make clear the hamstring was no longer on his mind.
“I’m very excited,” Bellinger told per MLB.com. “I feel good. I’m ready to go.”
He also detailed the work he put in to test the leg, wanting proof it could hold up across a full game.
“As the days went on, I was pretty much running at full speed,” Bellinger said. “I did defense, and more than you would probably do in a normal game. You just want to make sure you’re on your feet for a long period of time.”
His aim, he said, was uncomplicated.
“For me, [I want to] come in, help the team win as much as I can and play my best ball,” Bellinger said.
Numbers behind Yankees’ offensive collapse
Bellinger returns to a Yankees lineup that has not merely slipped. It has cratered.
The Yankees offense that once led the majors has gone quiet since late spring. The Yankees carried a 73-56 record into Sunday, holding second place in the AL East and trailing the first-place Tampa Bay Rays by three games. Their pitching has kept them in the race. Their hitting has nearly pushed them out of it.
Since the All-Star break, the Yankees have scored about 3.15 runs per game, batting close to .203 with a .626 OPS as a team, according to figures compiled by Pinstripe Alley. In August, they have sat at or near the bottom of the majors in runs scored. That is not a drought one bat can end.
Bellinger himself is having a down year by his own standard. He is slashing .259/.350/.420 with 11 home runs, 21 doubles and 53 RBIs in 102 games. His .420 slugging percentage sits well beneath the level he reached a season ago, when he ranked among the game’s more feared hitters.
His glove, at least, is a real upgrade. Bellinger grades in the 93rd percentile in Outs Above Average and the 91st percentile in Fielding Run Value, according to Baseball Savant. In left field, that defense matters for a club that has gotten unsteady work at the position.
On Saturday against Toronto, New York managed three runs in a 4-3 loss and was held without a hit into the seventh inning. The bats went cold at the worst stretch on the calendar.
The return of a proven left-handed hitter should feel like relief. In some ways it does. In others, it underlines how deep the trouble runs.
The bats the Yankees still need
The larger issue is what surrounds him. Ben Rice has been New York’s steadiest threat, yet pitchers can work around a Yankees lineup with few other dangers. George Lombard Jr. and Trent Grisham have offered flashes. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has run hot and cold. Spencer Jones, a rookie, has yet to settle in.
The injuries keep coming, too. The Yankees lost infielder Ryan McMahon to the injured list on Friday. Stanton suffered a fresh left calf strain earlier in the week, a setback that could end his 2026 season. The biggest bat of all remains out of reach.
Judge has started a hitting progression, but he has not faced live pitching, and the Yankees have set no timeline. General manager Brian Cashman has said the team stays optimistic Judge will play again this season, while stopping short of ruling out the alternative.
For now, the Yankees welcome back one hitter and keep waiting on the rest. Bellinger hands Aaron Boone a better lineup than the one that lost on Saturday. Whether it becomes a better offense depends on the names still missing, and on when, or if, the biggest of them returns.
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