The New York Yankees recently heard an encouraging update from Cody Bellinger, and the good news just keeps stacking up in the Bronx. Approaching the home stretch of the 2026 MLB season, Bellinger is putting in the work to return from injury. In fact, if it were up to him, the star outfielder could already be back in action.
After placing Bellinger on the 10-day injured list (IL) with a Grade 2 hamstring strain in his left leg, the Yankees set a four-to-six-week timeline for Bellinger’s return. A little over two weeks have passed since Bellinger’s injury designation on July 26, and a report suggests Bellinger is already nearing peak competitive form.
“Bellinger is ahead of schedule,” Yankees broadcaster Emmanuel Barberi reported on 161st and River Ave podcast. “I was talking to him, and he’s definitely ahead of schedule. The Yankees are being careful, rightfully so, because they don’t want to re-injure anything. If there was no timeline attached to this, [Bellinger] would be close to [being] back already.”
Learning that Bellinger is on the right track, along with Brian Cashman’s significant update on Aaron Judge’s return, means the best may be yet to come for the Yankees. Maybe it won’t be long before the Pinstripers’ batting order is back to normal.
Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees.
NY Yankees need Bellinger, but need him healthy
Although Bellinger is sending all the right signals to the Bronx Bombers and appears to be nearing full health, the Yankees will be once bitten, twice shy. If there’s one thing worse than being without Bellinger, it’s having him return only to lose him for even more time, and possibly for good ahead of the MLB postseason.
Thus, Aaron Boone and company will be cautious. For the time being, the Yankees are managing to stay afloat in the postseason race even without Bellinger and Aaron Judge.
Indeed, New York is struggling at the plate, but it still manages to pick up wins against direct opponents. Having the duo back would help, but the Bronx Bombers know all that matters is being healthy by the time October rolls around.
Bellinger’s stats so far
Through 102 appearances in the 2026 MLB campaign, Bellinger has tallied 52 runs, 97 hits, 11 home runs, and 53 runs batted in (RBI). Moreover, the 31-year-old outfielder has posted a .259 batting average, .350 on-base percentage (OBP), .420 slugging percentage (SLG), .770 on-base plus slugging (OPS), and 3.9 wins above replacement (WAR).
