Yankees' Cody Bellinger Responds to New Bench Role
The New York Yankees suffered a second-straight shutout loss on Monday as their scoreless drought reached a surprising 20 innings.
The Yankees' hitters are sure to figure things out soon as they've proven to be one of the most potent groups in all of baseball this season. But with the return of Giancarlo Stanton from injury, the team has been forced to move some star players into bench roles as at-bats prove hard to come by.
"Yankees manager Aaron Boone huddled with six of his 13 position players before Monday night's homestand opener, three of them former MVPs who are not named Aaron Judge," according to NJ.com's Randy Miller. "They were told all six deserved to be regulars, but from this day forward until further notice (or injuries), two of them probably would be bench players each day."
On Monday, that meant 2022 Most Valuable Player Award winner Paul Goldschmidt was on the bench, even though he has been one of the Yankees' best hitters so far. Soon, it will mean that 2019 MVP Cody Bellinger becomes a bench player, despite his $80 million contract.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MAY 27: Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees looks on in the dugout during the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on May 27, 2025...
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MAY 27: Cody Bellinger #35 of the New York Yankees looks on in the dugout during the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on May 27, 2025 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by) More
Tapia/Getty
For his part, though, Bellinger is taking the new role in stride.
"At the end of the day, we're all here for one goal, obviously winning the division and then getting to the World Series," Bellinger said, per Miller. "I'm sure we've all been on the opposite spectrum of who's going to play these positions, and that's a whole lot worse. So, yeah, we're all onboard with it."
Bellinger's response underscored that this is a good problem for the Yankees to have. And the ever-present potential of an injury means that the logjam could clear itself in the near future.
But until then, the Yankees will have some players getting accustomed to riding the bench for the first time in their storied careers.
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