Cody Bellinger needs to fix these concerning Yankees splits, and fast

When it comes to the New York Yankees lineup, Cody Bellinger isn't the first name that comes to mind regarding problems. On the surface, everything he did last year he's doing again this year, and in some cases, he's been even better.

The former NL MVP hit .272/.334/.480 in 2025. This year, he's hitting .274 and has an eerily similar .484 SLG, but his OBP has ballooned to .379, thanks to him nearly doubling his walk rate to 15%. But underneath the surface, trouble is brewing.

One of the reasons why Bellinger worked so well and the quest to re-sign him was so fierce was that his swing is a picture-perfect fit for Yankee Stadium. This year, he's pulled the ball in the air 22.4% of the time, which is well above the MLB average of 16.8%. He takes full advantage of the famous Bronx short porch. The fit has helped paper over some of the concerns in Bellinger's batted-ball profile.

Unfortunately, thus far, what we've seen from Bellinger is a tale of two seasons. At Yankee Stadium, he's been electric, batting .371/.468/.742 with all six of his homers coming in New York until Sunday's blast in Kansas City. On the road? It's ugly.

The Yankees will struggle on the road until Cody Bellinger fixes this fatal flaw

The Yankees went 2-7 on the most recent road trip, in which numerous concerns were raised. After their worst loss of the year, the club returned to the Bronx and quickly took the first two games of the four-game set against the rival Toronto Blue Jays.

Through May 19, the Yankees are now 17-9 at home and 15-13 on the road. The pitching has been stellar on the road, with a 2.98 ERA away from Yankee Stadium versus a 3.82 mark at home. It's the offense that has let the team down while traveling.

Austin Wells and the bottom of the lineup have struggled all season long, making it difficult to get anything rolling if the top half of the unit isn't tearing the cover off the ball. However, Bellinger's performance on the road has been on par with Wells, Ryan McMahon, and the rest of the team's greatest irritants. If it continues, we'll see more disastrous road trips like the last one.

To a degree, it's natural for a player to perform better at home than on the road. The comfort factor matters, but more importantly, team-building often occurs with the home ballpark in mind. Bellinger's skill set isn't going to play as well in every park around the league as it does in Yankee Stadium, but the difference cannot be this stark.

Last year, the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year hit .241/.301/.414 with 11 of his 29 homers coming away from New York. That's not an outstanding line, but it was good for a .715 OPS, which is about average and relatively respectable. If he can get back to that threshold at a minimum, he'll be fine, and the Yankees will look more formidable. If not, it's going to be hard to envision the Yankees winning the division, much less making a deep playoff run.

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