He is back
Soto feels ‘very good’ in return to lineup; Judge gets day off from ailing feet.
Juan Soto made his long-awaited return to the Yankees lineup following a three-game hiatus on Monday night in Kansas City, albeit without Aaron Judge’s protection.
Judge, the American League Player of the Week, received a day off for the Yankees’ 4-2 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, marking the first time this season that MLB’s home run leader (24) did not bat third for the Yankees.
Soto, who missed the Dodgers’ first three games due to discomfort in his left forearm after leaving during a rain delay against the Twins on Thursday, batted second as the designated hitter Monday and finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
Soto said he felt OK and swung without pain in the cage before Monday’s game, so he was added to the lineup. However, his return to the outfield will be determined by how he feels on Tuesday following his return to game action.
“[It went] pretty good,” Soto added. “I know I was DHing, but I was able to see a few pitches and take some hacks. I felt fairly fine.
“I’ve been doing a lot of treatments, I’m feeling good, and I’ve seen a lot of progress. It is not going to go away so quickly. We’ll keep working on it and doing a few things over the next week and see how things go from there. The focus is on the
Manager Aaron Boone stated that the organization wanted to get Soto back in a game before putting him in the outfield, a decision reinforced by his late arrival in Kansas City due to a night game Sunday.
“Especially with us getting in during the middle of the night, we wanted to make sure he gets out and playing again before throwing, just kind of a way to ease in,” Boone stated prior to Monday’s game.
The Yankees have been careful with Soto, who played all 162 games for the Padres last season, but Boone said the right fielder did not experience any different discomfort when swinging or throwing. Soto, who is batting.318 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs in 65 games, is anticipated to see action in Kauffman Stadium’s expansive outfield at some point during the four-game series.
Soto had been taking anti-inflammatory medicine and went through his customary pregame routine in Kansas City. Soto’s.425 on-base percentage is second only to Judge (.436) in the Major Leagues.
“We have based [Soto’s status] on how he is coming in each day, where the improvements are, how he is feeling,” Boone stated. “So hopefully this will get him in and get him back out in the outfield this series.”
While Soto returned to the top of the order, Judge had the option to rest for the first time this season. Judge enjoyed one of his best weeks of his career, hitting.500 with a 1.830 OPS in his last six games, but Boone emphasized the need of allowing the slugger to relax during a stretch of 13 games in 13 days.
“I had been marking this one down; obviously he’s been playing out of this world, but he had played every day and this time of year…” “It’s important to get off… especially at 3 a.m.,” Boone added. This is what I had in mind.
“I never liked him out of the lineup, of course. But I think he needs a day.”
Anthony Rizzo, who missed Sunday’s game, was also not in the lineup Monday. The first baseman went 1-for-29 in June and has a.624 OPS in 64 games this season. Boone stated that the team will “circle up each night” with Rizzo to discuss the process, but that his absence will be “a couple days.”
