Yankees' Cody Bellinger to miss 4-6 weeks with Grade 2 hamstring strain
The Yankees’ Cody Bellinger returns to the dugout after striking out swinging during the 10th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 1 of a split doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on July 22. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
CHICAGO – Cody Bellinger returned to New York Monday for testing on the left hamstring strain he suffered in Saturday night’s victory over the Phillies and subsequently landed the outfielder on the injured list on Sunday.
The news from that testing, while not the worst it could have been, certainly could not be categorized as good.
Manager Aaron Boone disclosed before the Yankees started a four-game series against the White Sox on Monday night that Bellinger had been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain and would be out for the next 4-6 weeks at least.
“The good thing is he’s obviously able to move around right now,” Boone said of Bellinger, who was seen on the field doing some light agility work on the field before Sunday night’s loss in Philadelphia. “So we’ll continue to do that and allow this thing to heal and get him right.”
Bellinger suffered the injury while legging out a double late in Saturday night's 3-1 win in Philadelphia.
Although Bellinger was in a prolonged slump that brought his batting average down to .259 at the time of the injury, he still has been among the most important Yankees — not just because of the threat his lefty bat is at the plate (where he has 11 homers and 53 RBIs), but also because of his defensive versatility, which has proven to be a major asset since he joined the Yankees before the 2025 season (Bellinger, though mostly playing leftfield for the Yankees, can also play right, center and first base).
Bellinger is yet another top Yankees hitter out for an extended stretch, joining Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the IL.
“Obviously, we’ve had some tough injuries to some really important people but, again, that’s part of it,” Boone said. “As I’ve said, the season waits for no one. So it creates an opportunity, it legitimately does, for one or more people to go plug that hole, to develop, to grow. And we feel very much that we have capable guys that are capable of going out there and performing at a high level. We’ve got to weather that storm and confident we can do that.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
