Once the Yankees revealed that they would likely be without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Cody Bellinger for much if not all of August, it become apparent that the scuffling offense would just have to tread water for awhile. It's a tough time to do so, as players around the league certainly get gassed by the dog days of summer as the grind of the 162-game season really sets in. The Yanks got a 4-1 win over the Mariners last night, but it's an unflattering statement on the offense when four runs—in one inning, no less!—feels like an explosion for this team.
They must press on regardless and hope that some slumping bats awaken while the pitching remains elite . The Yankees obviously hope to get all of Judge, Stanton, and Bellinger back at various points over the next month and change; manager Aaron Boone suggested that the reverse order could be most likely. Outside of Bellinger, their injuries have been fuzzy enough that I'm not going to personally focus on their returns until they're actually in the lineup. But I do think that at absolute minimum, Bellinger will be back and Judge will appear in a lineup again by season's end. (I'm even actually a rare optimist on Stanton getting at-bats in September, too, but I'm just talking minimum.)
Today, we're thinking about the Yankees' current 26-man roster and who is most clearly on the chopping block with Bellinger nearing a return from the IL later this month. There's naturally a chance that the Yanks don't actually have to make a decision because there's always the possibility of a future roster injury and one or more of the returning players simply tagging in. As they say, baseball often has a way of working these things out on its own. Remember the questions about which of Ryan Weathers or Will Warren gets shifted from the rotation to the bullpen? Those began months ago with Gerrit Cole and Max Fried working their way back from the IL and we only now might be approaching the answer since Carlos Rodón is almost back. The Yankees will also be aided in September by the two additional roster spots, giving them 28 to work with rather than 26.
Nonetheless, I do suspect that at least one tough decision will have to be made before August ends and the Yanks gain that flexibility. Although I don't like to speculate on this because I do strongly believe in the "baseball works itself out" principal, it's certainly fair to at least consider in more general discussion spaces. This will be especially true if Bellinger is ready to go within the next week or so. If that's the case, they can't afford to stall to save a roster spot. So as hard as it would be to believe earlier in 2026 when they were hot, Amed Rosario and Paul Goldschmidt could be in trouble. They could play a reliever short and go with a 12-man staff, but that's tough to envision with how taxed the bulpen already appears. (And no, Ben Rice is not catching at all. It's better that way.)
Although Goldschmidt might have a clunky fit as a first baseman, I think Rosario is probably most in jeopardy. They've both been weak bats for awhile now. Rosario not an asset in the field at all and he was signed to mash lefties off the bench. Instead, he's posted a .625 OPS in 126 plate appearances against southpaws — a far cry from his career mark of .783 and his .819 in 2025. It's odd to consider, but his solid marks (.854 OPS in 71 PA) against same-sided arms have saved him. If the Yankees were to project forward, however? The magic 8-ball isn't smiling on him. It's unfortunate because Rosario seems to be a legitimately great dude, but that's how it goes sometimes.
Anyway, knock on wood that this becomes an actual problem for the Yankees to address because boy am I tired seeing new injuries "resolve" old ones. Maybe we can dream and their bats can come back to life a bit to make it a harder question.
Today on the site, John takes a slight detour from traditional Yankees coverage by offering his own thoughts as a Big East alum on how their selection of Tim Brosnan as commissioner could relate to MLB's ongoing CBA negotiations (and college sports, of course). Madison will have the Rivalry Roundup, Jonathan will celebrate the 64th birthday of a mostly forgotten 1996 Yankee, Josh will muse on the AL Cy Young race between Cam Schlittler and Dylan Cease, and Scott will touch on the latest items from around the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat.
New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners
Time: 7:05 p.m. EST
TV: ESPN
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
