Dominican outfielder Juan Soto has inflammation in his elbow and will not go on the injured list of the New York Yankees
NEW YORK — The Dominican slugger of the New York Yankees, Juan Sotopresents inflammation in the elbow and not a serious injury like a torn ligament, which is a relief for the team and the fans.
Soto was not in the starting lineup for the first time this season in the first game of New York’s high-profile series against Los Angeles Dodgers. He manager of the Yankees, Aaron Boonesaid that the star outfielder is day by day and will not go on the injured list.
“In the grand scheme of things, we got good news. Just a little swelling,” Boone said. “We were a little anxious for a moment.”
Soto was pulled in Thursday night’s 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins after five innings due to left forearm soreness. The slugger pointed out that the discomfort occurred approximately a week and a half or two weeks ago.
He felt the pain during the 56-minute delay against the Twins and was examined by the team’s chief medical officer, Dr. Christopher Ahmad. After 20 minutes of restarting the game, the Yankees decided to send him for tests.
“Once he warms up and gets going, they work with him, the hitting, pitching in the game, he’s fine. It is getting to that point and then getting up the next morning where there is pain. Different movements, somewhat rigid,” Boone added.
Soto has started all 64 games for the Yankees since they acquired him in a December trade with the Padres.
“It doesn’t hurt when I throw or bat, it’s more like a pain I feel with any type of movement I make with my arm. But it definitely doesn’t stop me from anything as far as baseball goes,” he said Thursday night.
Soto is hitting .318 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs, helping the Yankees to a major league-leading 45-19 record.
“We don’t want to take any chances, so we decided to stop,” Soto said.
