Yankees Juan Soto return comes with a scare no one was expectation

Juan Soto returned to the Yankees lineup on Sunday, which was welcome news for a fanbase on the edge of self-destruction at all times. Soto said he may undergo an MRI in the coming days, but at the very least he feels good enough to take vital at-bats.

“The one thing I don’t want him doing is compromising his swing,” Boone said before Sunday's game. “If it’s something where he’s just feeling some soreness, we’ll certainly wait on that. We know how important he is to our lineup.”

As Boone noted, the Yankees are on high alert for anything that could go wrong for Soto in his return to the lineup. Soto himself is aware that the Yankees priorities for him go beyond just one game, but also the stretch run come September and October. When asked about his injury over the weekend, Soto tried to downplay the pain, and acknowledge his own role in limiting the damage.

“It was a big pain in my hand,” Soto said. “It really feels even a little weak whenever I swung. It was just a different feeling. I couldn’t even hold the bat. I kept swinging and I started changing my swing, so I stopped and I just couldn’t do it.”

Juan Soto isn't the only injury the Yankees have to worry about

Just as the Yankees received positive news on the Soto front, Gerrit Cole suffered an injury scare early in New York's Sunday contest against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Given Cole's recent injury woes -- he missed the first two months of the season -- it's fair to wonder if the Yankees are taking an unnecessary risk with their ace, as well. Cole did return to the game in this case, but the Yankees training staff doesn't exactly have the best track record with these sorts of things.

Soto doesn't have an extensive injury history, either, but throwing two of their best players into high-leverage situations for a game in June...isn't ideal.

While the Yankees are down a game to the Orioles in the AL East race, there's a long season ahead. New York's goal is to make the postseason, and do some damage in October. If they're without either Cole or Soto, that dream goes away in a hurry.