PHILADELPHIA – The Yankees have spent the summer without several of their most recognizable stars on the active roster. Aaron Judge remains in limbo as he waits for his fractured right rib to heal, and Giancarlo Stanton is moving slowly in his running progression after a pair of right calf strains.
Another player couldn't avoid that same fate Sunday, when All-Star outfielder Cody Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Outfielder Spencer Jones, the club's No. 7-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline, was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Bellinger felt a grab in his left hamstring while running out an eighth-inning double in the Bombers’ 3-1 victory over the Phillies on Saturday. Bellinger performed light agility drills on Sunday, and he will return to New York for an MRI exam on Monday.
“It’s a little tight, but I didn’t wake up worse, so that’s good,” Bellinger said. “I just feel like I won’t be able to put on the cleats for the next four days, at least. So being short a man for that long, they’ll get a full roster up here and give the guys as much opportunity as they can.”
Aboard following his knock off reliever Jonathan Bowlan, Bellinger said he felt tightness after rounding first base, which prompted immediate concern from the Yankees’ bench. From second base, Bellinger waved off manager Aaron Boone, remaining in the game until the end of the half-inning.
After Trent Grisham’s groundout, Bellinger came slowly off the field, heading directly down the dugout tunnel. Boone said Bellinger later told him that he would have had an issue scoring on a ball in play.
“I felt like it was smart to get out of there,” Bellinger said. “... As the at-bat went on, it felt like it probably wasn’t the smartest decision to stay.”
Max Schuemann replaced Bellinger in left field for the bottom of the inning. Schuemann started in left field on Sunday against Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez.
Boone said he envisions Jones getting “a lot” of the at-bats in left field while Bellinger is out, noting that he wants to keep Jasson Domínguez in right field.
“Spencer’s ready for the shot,” Boone said.
Jones possesses big power, but thus far it has not translated into consistent big league production. In 31 games this season, he has slashed .224/.314/.355 with four doubles, two homers and seven RBIs. Jones has struck out 35 times in 76 at-bats.
In 54 Triple-A games this year, Jones has slashed .273/.385/.557 with 14 homers and 52 RBIs.
“I think he’s capable of having success up here, and I think he’s ready to have success up here,” Boone said. “Now you’ve got to go do it, obviously, but I’ll try to get him in matchups that are good and favorable. I feel like he can add something to our lineup.”
Bellinger has been battling through a lengthy slump, including a 31-game homerless streak, just two games shy of the longest power outage of his career. His last home run came on June 17 vs. the White Sox.
But Bellinger was beginning to show positive signs at the plate, including a tiebreaking sixth-inning RBI single on Saturday.
Bellinger has also been an exceptional defender in the outfield, making a long run in Saturday’s game to snare Bryson Stott’s sixth-inning foul ball. He entered Sunday with 19 defensive runs saved, second in the Majors.
“It’s tough, because our outfield has been suffering a lot this year – big names, the whole year,” said infielder José Caballero. “Cody is a big part of this team. I hope he feels better as soon as possible.”
In his second season with the Yankees, Bellinger is slashing .259/.350/.420 with 21 doubles, 11 homers and 53 RBIs in 102 games.
“You hate seeing your guys go out, but we’ve got a game tonight and it’s a game we’re capable of winning,” Boone said. “We’ve faced our share [of injuries] here over the last several weeks, but I think we’ve also proven to ourselves we can win games, too.”