The New York Yankees barely survived Spring Training â at least, that’s what it felt like for the Bronx Bombers after an outbreak of injuries looked as if it would ruin the start to the 2025 season, if not the entire season. Instead, the Yankees have won four of their first six games over the opening week of the campaign.
Nonetheless, the injury bug keeps right on biting. Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton missed all of spring training and the regular season so far with pain in both elbows. Stanton has recently shown some encouraging signs in his recovery, swinging a bat for the first time all year, against balls hurled by a pitching machine.
Parade of Injuries Since Start of Spring Training
Third baseman D.J. LeMahieu remains out with a calf injury but the team hoes he can begin swinging a bat, at least, within a week though his return to the Yankees lineup is probably at least a month away. No. 5 starter Clarke Schmidt, dealing with rotator cuff soreness in his right shoulder, is expected to make a rehab start on Saturday in anticipation of a return to the rotation on April 15 or 16.
Staff ace and 2023 Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole has already been scratched for the entire season with Tommy John surgery, while No. 3 starter and 2024 Rookie of the Year Luis Gil remains on the 60-day injured list and is reportedly at least a week to 10 days away from even engaging in a game of catch, due to an ongoing strained lat muscle.
Now, the Yankees are facing concerns with their flagship offseason offensive acquisition, who may also go down with an injury.
Just a week after they lost generational slugger Juan Soto to their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets, and a record-smashing 13-year, $765 million contract, the Yankees made their counter-move. They sent right-handed pitcher Cody Poteet to the Chicago Cubs in a trade for former National League MVP and Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger.
The Yankees also received $5 million in cash from the Cubs to help cover the $25 million Bellinger is owed this year. The nine-year veteran also has player option for 2026 that would pay him another $22.5 million if he chooses to stay with the Yankees and put off free agency for another year.
In the early going, the Yankees’ stratagem looked to be paying off. Bellinger played a key role in helping the injury-hobbled Yankees get off to a 4-2 start. In those six games Bellinger had five hits including a home run, with six runs driven in.
Bellinger Suffers Back Stiffness
But on Friday, Bellinger was missing from the Yankees lineup as they faced the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road.
The reason: a bad back. According to manager Aaron Boone, Bellinger began to feel back stiffness during Thursday night’s win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in New York. Boone said that the outfielder’s back began to loosen up during the day on Friday, but he decided to hold Bellinger out of the lineup to be sure. Boone said that he did not believe the back problem was a “big deal.”
Time will tell. But the Yankees got another piece of unfortunate injury news on Friday, as Scott Efforts â who was acquired by the Yankees before the 2022 season but has appeared in only 16 games due to Tommy John surgery â suffered a new setback in his struggle to return to the mound, pushing his timeline back yet again. Effross went down with a hamstring strain after throwing a single pitch in Spring Training.
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