Ahead of Friday's series opener with the Blue Jays in Toronto, Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave a few injury updates on a trio of players...
Bellinger getting closer to a rehab start
Cody Bellinger has been on the IL since late July with a hamstring strain, but it seems the All-Star outfielder could be nearing a start in the minors.
Boone said that if all goes well with Bellinger as he continues his baseball activity, he could go on a rehab assignment sometime next week. Bellinger was doing some outfield work, namely catching flyballs in left field, hours before first pitch on Friday.
He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, so the initial timeline had Bellinger down for 4-6 weeks. If Bellinger gets into a rehab game next week, he would be in line with that assessment and could be activated before the end of the month. Boone did project that Bellinger would be back beforeGiancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, so his recovery is one to look out for as the Yankees hope to get back the outfielder's production.
Bellinger was slashing .259/.350/.420 with an OPS of .770 to go along with his 11 home runs and 53 RBI across 102 games this season.
Rodon's next step undecided
Carlos Rodon made his second rehab start on Thursday, and it was successful.
The southpaw struck out seven batters across 4.1 scoreless innings with Double-A Somerset. Boone said Rodon looked good in his rehab, but was not ready to declare what Rodon's next step will be.
Rodon could make another rehab start or could be activated next week to get him stretched out in the majors. If the latter is the direction the Yankees go, Boone has already said Rodon could be part of a piggyback situation. Rodon's schedule coincides with Will Warren, so those two could be the pitchers in that situation if it comes to that.
Chivilli lands on the IL
Angel Chivilli, the right-hander who was pitching well out of the Yankees bullpen recently before being optioned, was placed on the IL by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday.
Boone confirmed the designation and said that Chivilli is suffering from "some posterior elbow stuff going on" and that a doctor will check out the pitcher soon.
In 15 appearances with the big league club, Chivilli pitched to a 3.78 ERA. He had not allowed an earned run the entire month of July (12.2 IP), but was tagged for six runs against the Cardinals back on Aug. 3.
Chivilli was optioned after the game due to the 24-year-old tossing 37 pitches in that outing.
The Yankees did sign a reliever to a minor league contract on Friday, penning Justin Topa and assigning him to Triple-A.
Topa, 35, made 23 appearances for the Twins this season and pitched to an 8.05 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.