Cody Bellinger Won’t Solve All of Yankees’ Offensive Problems

Cody Bellinger is on his way back to the New York Yankees, but he might not be enough to turn this ship around.

Before going on the injured list last month, New York Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger was finding his stride at the plate. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cody Bellinger went down at the worst time. He was in the middle of a hot streak that started on July 4th, when the New York Yankees were out of it early after a meltdown from prospect Brendan Beck. They nearly came back, but after another disappointing loss, what Bellinger did went unnoticed. His double that day was his first extra-base hit in eight games.

From July 4th until going down with injury, Bellinger had 19 hits in 69 plate appearances. He didn't homer, but hit five doubles. Despite the power outage, Bellinger was still getting on base. He had a .348 OBP and was hitting .297 during this streak.

If that's the Bellinger the Yankees are getting back from the IL, he would be a boost over Heliot Ramos in more ways than one. Ramos hasn't hit, and, on top of that, he's a poor defender.

Cody Bellinger got a second chance and absolutely hosed James Wood! pic.twitter.com/8Jke2fWDiT

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 27, 2025

On Sunday, Ramos nearly fell over while making an attempt at an easy fly ball. With Bellinger, the Yankees won't have to worry about defense, as his 6 Outs Above Average are in the 93rd percentile in baseball. He also has a 91st percentile 8 Fielding Run Value, according to Baseball Savant.

The lineup around Cody Bellinger

Where the Yankees will have to worry, though, is what the rest of the lineup around Bellinger will do. He can provide good protection for Ben Rice, who hasn't been able to carry the offense with such a lackluster cast around him. While Bellinger would be an upgrade over Ramos, a struggling Jazz Chisholm Jr. or rookie Spencer Jones, whose success only comes in pockets, it's not the type of protection that Aaron Judge would give the third-year standout Rice.

Teams can still pitch around Rice to get to Bellinger. Bellinger hasn't been much of a threat or a game-wrecker, with a .420 slugging percentage, which is down .60 points from last season.

At this point in the year, the only two viable bats the Yankees have had recently are George Lombard Jr. and Trent Grisham. It's hard to depend on Grisham since his bat has been hot and cold, and Lombard is still a rookie. It wouldn't surprise anybody if he hit a wall.

The issue is less about Bellinger and more about the fact that there isn't a real menace in the lineup outside of Rice, and their young first baseman has struggled since Judge went down. It's not a knock on Bellinger, but realistically, things may not change much if he's there unless his teammates turn it around.

The New York Yankees are still waiting for right fielder Aaron Judge to return from the injured list. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The biggest problem the Yankees have right now is that nobody knows when Judge will return. There have been a few updates on Judge, like the one from a few days ago when there were reports that he played catch, but he hasn't even really swung a bat. It's concerning to hear that about Judge, as they need him pretty badly right now.

Despite an All-Star appearance, Bellinger hasn't contributed in the way the Yankees have needed him to. He's having a down year from last year, and going down for four weeks hasn't helped. If he is inserted into the lineup, it's fair to be skeptical about his overall impact if nobody else is hitting around him.

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