The New York Yankees are embroiled in a tug-of-war for first place in the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles heading into the All-Star Break. Meanwhile, Juan Soto is cracking jokes as he plays through pain in his right hand, as New York can't afford to have him out of the lineup.
Soto commented on the ailment to the Roku broadcast during the Yankees-Orioles contest on Sunday, via Talkin' Yanks.
“You tell me,” Soto said with a smile when the broadcasters asked him how the hand was feeling. The four-time All-Star also held up the hand for the cameras, showing off a protective bandage.
“No, you know, I've been grinding through it,” he continued. “It's right there, it's good so far. I just gotta make sure I hit the ball. When I miss it is when it hurts. If I hit it, it's all good.”
Soto missed an away game against the Toronto Blue Jays due to hand soreness, but he's been in the lineup every day since. The 2020 NL batting champion has noticeably grimaced on swings-and-misses recently, but he's not allowing it to interrupt his season.
Soto still plans on playing in Tuesday's All-Star Game as well, via The New York Post's Greg Joyce.
“Yeah, why not?” Soto said. “It’s a great experience. Definitely I’m going to be careful with it. I’m going to try to take care of it. I’ll let all those guys know about my hand. We’ll see. Just having fun and enjoy the show.”
Soto, who will start in the Midsummer Classic for the first time, will most likely face Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes in the first inning.
More importantly for New York, though, the injury has proven to not be serious. The two-time All-MLB first-teamer and fellow slugger Aaron Judge hit back-to-back homers in Saturday's 6-1 victory over Baltimore.
Will Soto continue being a reliable bat amidst the pain?
Soto has been everything the Yankees could have dreamed of
Soto, who's playing on a contract year, hasn't had an issue adjusting to the New York limelight. The 25-year-old is slashing .296/.427/.560 with 23 homers and 66 RBI, with a league-leading 79 walks.
Soto and Judge have been the only reliable Yankee hitters since Giancarlo Stanton went down with a hamstring injury in June. However, rookie first baseman Ben Rice has started his big-league career with a bang since getting called up the same month, as he had a three-homer game against the Red Sox and a go-ahead three-run shot against the Orioles in the ninth inning on Sunday.
Regardless, Soto has proven how badly New York needs him to re-sign with the club this winter.
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