New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto left Thursday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins with what the team announced as left forearm discomfort. Soto is set to undergo imaging on his arm Friday, per Aaron Boone. The Yankees manager added that Soto’s forearm had been bothering him for about a week prior to Thursday’s game.
Friday afternoon, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that it’s inflammation for Soto. Assuming that turns out to be accurate, this is relatively good news for Soto and the Yankees, as inflammation is much better than a tear of some sort.
The game Thursday went into a one-hour rain delay during the middle innings of an eventual 8-5 win, and just prior to the resumption of play Soto was replaced in the lineup by Alex Verdugo, who manned left while Aaron Judge moved from left to Soto’s position in right.
“It hasn’t really affected him with baseball stuff — throwing or swinging or anything,” Boone told reporters. “Once we shut down and the rain delay, that soreness was there. We didn’t feel like it was the right thing to go back out there.”
The 25-year-old Soto has been one of the most productive hitters in all of baseball this season. Prior to exiting the game, Soto went 0 for 1 with a pair of walks, which puts his batting line for 2024 at .318/.424/.603. He and Judge are on pace to be one of the most valuable duo of teammates in baseball history. Needless to say, the loss of Soto for any length of time would be a serious blow to the Yankees.
Soto has been a highly durable player throughout his MLB career. Over the last three full seasons, he’s averaged 155 games played per year, and this season he’s played in all 63 of the Yankees’ games. Soto hasn’t been on the injured list since April of 2021, when was still with the Nationals.
Soto, who was acquired this past offseason in a seven-player blockbuster trade with the Padres, is slated for free agency at season’s end.
The Yankees boast an MLB-best record of 45-19 and in first place in the American League East. They host the Dodgers for three games this weekend.
