TORONTO — The black hole that is the Yankees offense could be less than a week away from getting its first reinforcement back.
Cody Bellinger is expected to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, manager Aaron Boone said Sunday, then play another game on Thursday before he could be in play for the Yankees next weekend during a series against the Blue Jays in The Bronx.
Next Saturday marks four weeks from when Bellinger suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain against the Phillies, after which the Yankees offered a four-to-six week timeline for his return. He appears to be on track to come back right at the four-week mark, with the Yankees hoping he can help jumpstart a struggling offense.
Before each of the Yankees’ three games this weekend at Rogers Centre, Bellinger went through a full workout in which he looked just about ready, saying on Friday he “felt really good.”
Bellinger’s return will give the Yankees a needed presence near the top of their lineup and likely shift Heliot Ramos, who has been manning left field since being acquired at the trade deadline, into a potential platoon in right field with Spencer Jones.
The Yankees will face an interesting decision on how they clear a roster spot for Bellinger – Jones has minor league options remaining, but he has been one of the Yankees’ better hitters during this stretch – but they will welcome his return either way.
Next in line appears to be Giancarlo Stanton, who has been out since late April with a calf strain, though Boone said on Sunday he does not know when the veteran DH might be ready for a rehab assignment. Stanton has been back in New York this weekend continuing his running progression.
The Yankees are also banking on Aaron Judge being in play at some point next month. After playing catch on Friday for the first time since going on the IL with a stress fracture in his right rib at the beginning of June, Judge did not throw Saturday but was expected to run and play catch again on Sunday.
