Yankees injury concern officially nagging after worrisome Monday lineup

Last week, Cody Bellinger missed a game in Detroit after his body rebelled against a plate of undercooked chicken wings. It wasn't his first injury concern of the season, though it was his most hilarious.

On Monday afternoon, before the Yankees were slated to face a right-handed pitcher in Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals, Bellinger's more worrisome long-term foe cropped up once again.

When the lineup was posted with Trent Grisham in Bellinger's place, it seemed suspect, given Lugo's handedness. A few hours later, Aaron Boone confirmed what we'd feared: Bellinger's sore back hadn't been resolved, and the center fielder was receiving more treatment.

The Yankees are being cautious here as they approach Game 4 of a "13 games in 13 days" stretch (part of the reason they played Friday night in a sopping wet monsoon). It's notable, though, that Bellinger's stiff back arose during the season's second series against the Diamondbacks and kept him out of the opener in cold Pittsburgh. Bellinger has noted that this type of thing has afflicted him from time to time and has always resolved itself. Hopefully, he's right, and the Yankees are just taking a long-term view on a manageable issue (rather than minimizing something troublesome).

Yankees' Cody Bellinger missing from Monday lineup vs. Kansas City Royals with back injury

On the bright side? The more reps for Grisham the better, at least in the early going. Who knows what the Yankees' genie in a bottle is up to now that he's escaped, but the mustachioed masher has begun the season 11-for-32 with three homers and a 1.073 OPS. Though he typically performs better against left-handers than righties (oddly), keeping him in rhythm isn't a bad idea, especially given Bellinger's early underperformance.

Whether the Yankees are preaching caution or not, Bellinger's status merits monitoring. So far, the Yankees' Juan Soto backup plan has resulted in a resurgent run from Paul Goldschmidt, Max Fried holding the rotation down all by himself, and two boldfaced question marks. 50% isn't bad, but it won't get the Yankees anywhere close to where they need to go to quiet the noise.