The New York Yankees are preparing to welcome outfielder Cody Bellinger back to active duty following his recovery from a hamstring injury. Bellinger will commence a minor-league rehabilitation assignment on Tuesday, with manager Aaron Boone announcing the plan to media outlets. The 31-year-old is scheduled to appear in two games during his rehab stint and could be activated in time for the team’s home series against the Blue Jays beginning on Aug. 21.
Bellinger earned his third career All-Star selection this season and has contributed defensively in the outfield while providing offensive production. Through 102 games, he maintained a 115 OPS+ before being sidelined by his injury on July 25.
The Yankees’ offensive struggles have intensified in Bellinger’s absence. The team has posted a .204/.281/.354 batting line as a collective unit since his injury, and the situation worsened with the absence of American League MVP Aaron Judge, who has not appeared in games since May 31 and remains without a definitive return timetable due to a rib cage stress fracture. Since Judge went down, the Yankees have ranked 29th among MLB’s 30 teams in runs scored, managing to score five or more runs in a single game only three times through August.
Heading into Sunday’s games, the Yankees held a 68-55 record and occupied second place in the AL East, trailing the first-place Rays by 6 ½ games. New York maintains top wild-card positioning in the American League but holds only a two-game advantage over the Red Sox for the second wild-card spot.
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