The New York Yankees dropped a frustrating game to the last-place Baltimore Orioles on Monday night. Most of the attention among fans will go to starting pitcher Will Warren, who put up another rough stat line as he attempts to keep his head above water after being thrust into the team's rotation. But while Warren certainly didn't help matters, he was hardly the only one to blame. In fact, Monday's loss laid bare a far more pressing problem for New York, one that the team is going to have to get creative to address.
The Yankees had very, very high hopes for Cody Bellinger this season. It became clear from pretty much the moment Juan Soto left for the New York Mets that GM Brian Cashman was eying Bellinger as his replacement in the outfield. You could talk yourself into it at the time: Sure, his contract was so bloated the Chicago Cubs couldn't wait to get out from under it, but he'd give New York some much-needed athleticism, and his swing could be a perfect fit for the short porch at Yankee Stadium.
One month into the 2025 season, however, none of that has come to pass. Bellinger is making precious little hard contact, taking a dismal .570 OPS into play on Monday night. He went 1-for-3 with a walk in the loss to Baltimore, striking out against Felix Bautista to end the game.
Félix Bautista strikes out Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger to lock down the save for the @Orioles! pic.twitter.com/KTsebftQVb
— MLB (@MLB) April 29, 2025
It's hard to find the silver lining in Bellinger's play right now. His defense has been an asset, but he's lost at the plate right now, and there doesn't seem to be any sign that he's about to turn things around.
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Yankees can't afford to keep hitting Cody Bellinger third in lineup
Despite the fact that he has just six extra-base hits across his first 26 games, Aaron Boone has shown no inclination to drop Bellinger from hitting third in the team's lineup against right-handed pitching. In theory, it makes sense: Boone wants Aaron Judge hitting second, and he also wants to surround his best hitter with two lefties in order to prevent opposing managers from making easy bullpen decisions late in games.
But that only works if Bellinger is, you know, making pitchers pay, and he's simply not doing that right now. Right now, it doesn't matter whether Bellinger hits righty or lefty or a secret third way; he's not hitting anything hard, and that's a huge liability in a run-producing spot in the lineup. Grisham, Rice, Judge and Paul Goldschmidt are all carrying their weight, but far too often potential rallies have been cut short by Bellinger's inability to get the job done.
The Yankees are at least publicly preaching patience with Bellinger. We're still just a few weeks into the season, and there's certainly a chance he pulls out of this funk sooner rather than later. But New York isn't good enough to throw away games in a difficult AL East division. Bellinger's play has cost them enough already, and it's time to give something else a try.