NEW YORK — The New York Yankees kept star right fielder Juan Soto out of the lineup against the the vaunted Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
Soto left Thursday night’s game with discomfort in his left throwing forearm and was scheduled for tests Friday.
In his place, the Yankees put center fielder Aaron Judge back in his natural right field and fourth outfielder Trent Grisham in center field. Alex Verdugo returned to left field after getting Thursday off to rest.
Soto was diagnosed with inflammation in the forearm and a radiologist was expected to look over his MRI results, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Juan Soto speaks on his early exit pic.twitter.com/ws0jxTVVne
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 7, 2024
Soto left Thursday’s game in the middle of a 56-minute rain delay after the fifth inning.
A Yankees spokesman said Dr. Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees’ team physician, examined Soto during the delay and the pair determined it wasn’t worth the rest of warming up again during the delay.
Soto said he has felt soreness in his forearm for about two weeks and that he has been “just grinding through it.” He said there wasn’t a specific incident that caused the injury. Rather, he said, he woke up one day and felt pain, though he added that it hadn’t hurt him to throw or hit.
“It’s more like soreness that I feel with any kind of move that I make with my arm,” Soto said. “It definitely doesn’t stop me from anything baseball-wise or in the field.”
Any time Soto misses could potentially be a huge blow to the Yankees. He’s been stellar in his first season in the Bronx, leading the league in batting average (.318), on-base percentage (.424), and plate appearances (290) while playing in all 64 of the Yankees’ games. Soto also played in 162 games last year for the San Diego Padres, who traded him last offseason to the Yankees.
Behind Soto and fellow star Judge, the Yankees have posted the league’s best record at 45-19 and held a 4 1/2-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East going into Friday.
If Soto must miss time, it’s possible the Yankees could turn to top prospect Jasson Domínguez, who has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 21-year-old has played just five games in the outfield so far during his rehab, however. The Yankees could also turn to prospect Everson Pereira or cycle Oswaldo Cabrera into the outfield mix.
Manager Aaron Boone is slated to speak to reporters at 4 p.m.
This is a developing story. More to come.
(Top photo of Juan Soto: New York Yankees / Getty Images)
