New York Yankees star Juan Soto was removed from their 8-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins due to left forearm discomfort.
After a rain delay that lasted nearly an hour Thursday night at Yankee Stadium, Soto was removed from the game in the top of the sixth inning when play resumed. Aaron Judge moved into the outfield to fill Soto’s place in the rest of right field, and Alex Verdugo came off the bench to play left.
Although it’s unclear how serious Soto’s injury is (he’ll undergo more tests on Friday), manager Aaron Boone said after the game that he’s been dealing with forearm discomfort for the past week. Nothing specific happened Thursday night to trigger it.
Aaron Boone says Juan Soto’s forearm discomfort has been bothering him for the past week.
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“Once we closed and the rain was delayed, that pain was there,” Boone said. “So I didn’t feel like it was the right thing to go back out… It’s just been something that’s been bothering him.”
Soto was 0 for 1 with two walks when he left the game Thursday night. The 25-year-old, whom the Yankees acquired in a blockbuster deal with the San Diego Padres last offseason, has started every Yankee game this year. He is hitting .318 and has 53 RBI and 17 home runs.
It’s unclear how long Soto will be out, if at all. The Yankees’ top outfield prospect, Jasson Dominguez, was also pulled from his AAA game before the eighth inning Thursday night. That, the Yankees confirmed, was scheduled. The seven innings he played on defense were the most he has played so far in his rehab period. It is unclear how long Dominguez will be with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Despite losing Soto, the Yankees held on to take the three-run victory over the Twins. He marked the Yankees’ eighth consecutive victory, giving them a 6-0 record over the Twins this season and taking them to 45-19 on the year.