On Saturday, before the second game against the LA Dodgers, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced that he anticipates outfielder Juan Soto will be sidelined for “a couple of days” due to a forearm injury.
Despite the Yankees’ 3-11 loss to the Dodgers, there was a glimmer of hope. Manager Boone hinted at the potential return of Juan Soto, stating that he will ‘probably’ be doing some hitting tomorrow. While Bryan Hoch reported that this doesn’t guarantee his readiness to play, it does signal a step forward in his recovery, a development that fans eagerly await.
What happened
Manager Aaron Boone indicated on Saturday afternoon that Juan Soto will likely need a few more days before returning to the lineup. “We’re leaning towards giving it a couple days, for sure. We’ll see how he does today and how he moves around.” Boone said Saturday, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo.
Although Boone suggested last Friday that Juan Soto might return over the weekend, this now seems unlikely. Trent Grisham replaced Soto in center field again, with Aaron Judge moving from center to right. Additionally, Alex Verdugo was moved up from the cleanup spot to Soto’s regular No. 2 position in the batting order for the second consecutive night.
The Yankees began the day with the best record in the American League at 45-20 but have managed only one run in 14 innings since Soto exited Thursday’s win over the Twins.
After the game, Soto mentioned that his throwing arm’s forearm had been bothering him for about 1 1/2 to two weeks. Boone confirmed that Soto was receiving treatment on Saturday.
“I think he sees the big picture in all this,” Boone said. “As much as this environment and series mean to him, he knows he needs to get this inflammation out of there so we can roll. That said, I don’t think he’s putting himself at risk when he goes out there. But we want to get it out of there, so we’ll keep monitoring his progress, and when he’s ready, he’s ready.”
When asked if the injured list was a possibility if Juan Soto doesn’t make much progress over the next few days, Boone replied, “I guess it is a possibility, but I don’t expect that to be the case.”
Juan Soto exited the Yankees’ home game against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday in the sixth inning, experiencing discomfort in his left forearm. The team announced on Friday that Soto’s injury had been diagnosed as “inflammation” and that the star outfielder is considered “day-to-day,” Castillo reported.
Up next
The Yankees are eager to have Juan Soto back in the lineup as soon as possible. He is batting .318 through 64 games this season and has been a crucial factor in the team’s rise to the top of the AL East.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
