New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was a late addition to the team's lineup for this Sunday's 8-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays after sitting out of Saturday's loss because of a bruised right hand.
With the MLB All-Star Game approaching, it would be reasonable to expect Soto to skip the festivities in order to rest the injury and be ready for the second half of the Yankees' season.
But Soto has no such plans, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com:
“Juan Soto said he still plans to play in the All-Star Game despite his right hand injury.”
Despite being in some clear discomfort in the Yankees' 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, Soto gave a positive update after the game.
“I would say it's better. It's been better, what the trainer's been doing. It's still painful, but I think it's been better. I have my days. The first day here in the series it was really painful, but it got better the next two days.”
During last Friday's 16-5 Yankees win, Soto hurt his hand sliding home. He was expected to get testing done on the hand on Monday when the Yankees arrived back to New York, but it was determined that he was good enough to play, despite the pain.
The MLB All-Star Game is next Tuesday in Arlington, TX. The Yankees will have a break from their regular season schedule from Monday through Thursday.
Yankees and Juan Soto at a standstill
After committing huge dollars to Aaron Judge, the Yankees still hope to lock up Soto to a massive long-term deal as soon as possible. But Soto isn't in any hurry.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes, “The organizational support to keep Soto may be even more solid (Brian Cashman and Co. gave up five pitchers for Soto). However, the stakes are higher as Soto — five years younger than Judge — will be seeking $500M plus, and likely even $600M.
Soto’s expected reticence to negotiate in-season stems from a preference not to distract from the season (plus, of course, the opportunity to choose.) Let’s face it: No star of that caliber signs months from free agency.”
If Soto was to re-sign with the Yankees, Judge would play a major role in the reunion.
Before games, Soto and Judge oftentimes sit together and strategize their plan of attack against the opposing pitcher. The former says that the warm welcome he received helped make him feel more comfortable with the Yankees.
“He definitely tries to help me out,” Soto said of Judge. “He's a guy you can talk to and have fun throughout the game. It's been fun so far. It's been great for us.”
“He started talking with me to let me know how happy they are,” Soto said of Judge and New York's reaction to his initial trade. “That's one thing that shows you who he is. We got him, Gerrit Cole and all those guys texting me. That really shows me they care about me.”
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