Juan Soto is returning to the New York Yankees‘ lineup Monday night, serving as the designated hitter against the host Kansas City Royals, manager Aaron Boone said.
Soto missed this weekend’s series against the Dodgers as he dealt with left forearm inflammation.
Aaron Judge, who started the Yankees’ first 67 games, was given a night off from the lineup. Earlier Monday, Boone was named AL Player of the Week.
Soto was in the No. 2 slot and the slumping Anthony Rizzo was left out of the lineup for the second straight game.
Soto left Thursday night’s 8-5 win over the Minnesota Twins during a rain delay due to soreness in his forearm that he later said had been bothering him for at least a week. An MRI revealed just the inflammation in the forearm, and no problems with his elbow.
Soto is batting .318 with 17 home runs, 53 RBIs and a 1.027 OPS. The 25-year-old outfielder, acquired in December from San Diego, can become a free agent after the World Series.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.