Yankees' Juan Soto 'Day-to-Day' After Forearm Injury Diagnosed as Inflammation

It looks like New York Yankees slugger Juan Soto may have avoided the worst with his forearm injury.

The outfielder had an MRI at noon to determine the extent of his forearm discomfort that knocked him out of the Yankees game against the Minnesota Twins Thursday. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that the initial prognosis is "inflammation" and that his absence shouldn't be long-term.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed the report that Soto was suffering from inflammation and that the outfielder is considered "day-to-day."

Despite the positive prognosis, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported that Soto was not in the Yankees lineup for Friday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boone did acknowledge that Soto could potentially be available Friday night and in the series against the Dodgers.

He also said that he expects Soto to avoid the injured list.

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Soto had said that he had felt the discomfort for "like a week or two" but it hadn't previously slowed him down. It appears that changed Thursday and he and the Yankees will be proceeding with caution.

Soto is hitting .318/.424/.603 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs in 64 games with the Yankees in 2024. It is his first year with the franchise after being traded to New York from the San Diego Padres in the offseason, and it's safe to say it has paid off for the Yankees thus far.

The Yankees are 45-19 and lead the AL East by 4.5 games. The team holds a 0.5 game lead on the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in MLB and appear poised to return to the postseason after missing out in 2023.

An injury to Soto could derail those plans and complicate his impending free-agent market. It appears as though that situation has been avoided so far.