Juan Soto, Yankees catch major break with inflammation diagnosis for star slugger

NEW YORK — Juan Soto, the Yankees and their fans breathed sighs of relief on Friday, as the slugger doesn’t appear to be dealing with a major injury after exiting Thursday’s game with left forearm discomfort following a lengthy rain delay.

Instead, imaging revealed that Soto is only battling inflammation in his forearm. He had his elbow checked as well; that imaging came back clean.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Soto is day-to-day right now and could even be available if needed against the Dodgers this weekend. The manager didn’t rule out Soto making an appearance on Friday, though that would be surprising with the right fielder out of the lineup.

Soto is not currently expected to go on the injured list or receive any injections, though he will take medicine to treat the inflammation.