New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone expects outfielder Juan Soto to miss "a couple of days" with a forearm injury.
"We're leaning towards giving him a couple of days, for sure," Boone said Saturday, per ESPN's Jorge Castillo.
Soto exited the Yankees' Thursday home win over the Minnesota Twins in the sixth inning with left forearm discomfort.
The team reported Friday that Soto's injury had been diagnosed as "inflammation" and that the star is considered "day-to-day," per Castillo.
The Yankees will hope to get Soto back as soon as possible. He is batting .318 through 64 games this season as a key part of the team's run to the top of the AL East.
The news comes after Soto was not listed in the starting lineup for the first time this season during Friday night's home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is slated to miss his second consecutive game Saturday.
Boone said he did not expect Soto to go on the injured list despite the two-game absence.
"I guess it is a possibility, but I don't expect that to be the case," Boone said.
Yankees Videos @snyyankeesAaron Boone says he still does not expect Juan Soto to land on the injured list <a href="https://t.co/PGpsj7YtpN">pic.twitter.com/PGpsj7YtpN</a>
Yankees captain Aaron Judge said after the Yankees' 2-1 Friday loss that he was "hoping" Soto was going to be able to come into the game as a pinch-hitter, per SNY.
Instead, the Yankees have decided to give Soto more time to recover from an injury Boone said had been "bothering" him for a "week or so" before Thursday's scare, per MLB.com's Matthew Ritchie.
Soto's forearm inflammation will be treated with medicine rather than an injection, Boone said, per Castillo.
According to Castillo, Boone added that he was not sure if Soto would wait until he no longer suffered any symptoms, or if he "would play through discomfort" to return to the lineup.
Soto was one of four MLB players to appear in all 162 games of the 2023 season during his final campaign with the San Diego Padres, making Friday's absence his first since the 2022 season.
The Yankees will have to go ahead without their most consistent hitter, at least for now, as they take on the Dodgers again Saturday evening in the Bronx.
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