The New York Yankees had to be feeling like they’d finally found their groove on Friday night after scoring 16 runs on the Toronto Blue Jays. Saturday brought them back to earth with Juan Soto injured and a 9-3 loss on the books.
Frankly, Soto’s injury matters more than the result on Saturday. He bruised his right hand while sliding for home on Friday and needed X-rays because of swelling that developed overnight. When he turned up in the dugout after testing, he had a wrap on his hand.
The good news was X-rays came back negative. There’s no fracture to worry about. The bad news is Soto is likely to miss at least one more game, per Bryan Hoch, with more tests potentially needed on Monday if his hand doesn’t improve.
Expect to see Juan Soto out of the lineup again tomorrow. Aaron Boone said that Soto could have more tests on Monday in NYC, but nothing is planned yet.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) June 29, 2024
Even if Soto sits out Sunday’s game, we have to assume this isn’t a long-term issue. The Yankees need to wait for the swelling to go down. It’s not worth risking further injury by throwing Soto back into the lineup before his hand is at full strength.
Having said that, Aaron Boone leaving the door open for more tests on Monday creates a smidge of uncertainty around this whole thing. If there was no fear of ligament or other soft tissue damage, the idea of further tests wouldn’t even come to mind.
Maybe we’re overthinking it. Having gone through the Aaron Judge toe saga of 2023, it’s well-earned paranoia.
Saturday’s loss will keep the Yankees behind the Orioles in the AL East standings at least through Sunday. New York is 2-8 in their last 10. Baltimore isn’t exactly lighting things up either, but 5-5 the same stretch is positive by comparison.
Sunday is another chance for the Yankees to prove they can win without Soto. So far, they are 1-3 when Soto doesn’t play.
