TAMPA – Cody Bellinger knows the deal by now.
The Yankees veteran’s back problems have almost become an annual ritual on the calendar around this time, giving him the assurance that he will be back on the field soon.
For now, Bellinger is sidelined after his back strained against him on Friday, preventing him from playing any more games this weekend. The Yankees have a day off on Monday, but Bellinger expects to take live batting practice on Tuesday and then return to action on Wednesday or Thursday.
“It’s honestly very mild,” Bellinger said Sunday morning at Steinbrenner Field. “I just ramped up the activity and it has tightened me up a little bit. Nothing major really. Where we are on the schedule and not even in March yet (when it happened), take a few days to get it right and then I think by the time I get back into the games I can still get enough at-bats to get ready for the season.”
Bellinger had played in three exhibitions before the back issues appeared. It’s the same thing he faced last April during the regular season, when he missed two games before returning to the field.
The 30-year-old outfielder, who re-signed with the Yankees on a five-year contract worth $162.5 million, said he knows what kind of treatment he needs to get his back right.
“Very knowledgeable about that process,” he said with a wry grin. “But even today I feel very good.”
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