The New York Yankees can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, at least when it comes to Cody Bellinger’s injury recovery. Unfortunately, Aaron Boone and company can’t escape adversity, as they lost Max Fried to injury shortly after Carlos Rodon was activated from the IL. That’s how the 2026 MLB season has gone for the Pinstripers.
On the bright side, though, Bellinger is nearing a full return. Shortly after Boone provided a significant update on Bellinger’s return, the three-time All-Star sent New York’s manager and the staff in the Bronx a clear message about his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
“Cody Bellinger said he will play his first Minor League rehab game Thursday with the RailRiders,” per Bryan Hoch from MLB.com. “[Bellinger] said he expects to play more than one [game], but ‘we’ll see how the first game goes‘.”
Slow and steady wins the race for NY Yankees
Although Boone and the Yankees dearly miss Bellinger and the rest of their star-studded IL squad in the Bronx, they know better than to rush them back. At least, Bellinger hopes they do. Just in case, his statement suggests he wants to take things slowly during his rehab assignment in Triple-A.
Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees.
Bellinger hinted at that as he pushed to play more than one game before being activated from the IL and thrown back into New York’s lineup. Bellinger is returning from a Grade 2 hamstring strain that has sidelined him since July 26. The initial timeline suggested an absence of four to six weeks. It seems Bellinger will be back in a month, or even less.
When Bellinger could be back in MLB
Considering he will begin his rehab assignment on Thursday, Aug. 20, when the RailRiders take on the Charlotte Knights, and he hopes to play more than one game in the minor leagues, there’s reason to believe the Yankees could bring Bellinger back to the lineup on Aug. 25, when they start a three-game series at home against AL rivals the Houston Astros.
If that’s the case, Bellinger would miss the final regular-season series against the Toronto Blue Jays (Aug. 21-23), along with the Baltimore Orioles series (Aug. 18-20), which he is confirmed to be out for.
It would also be quite poetic as Bellinger’s last game was on July 25. A month later, he could be back in pinstripes. Albert Einstein was right: time is indeed relative. For many, a month goes by in the blink of an eye, but for the Yankees, it was slow, dull, painful, and unbearable without Bellinger.
