Yankees make worrying move with top prospect after Juan Soto injury

The New York Yankees made two very concerning moves on Thursday night.

First, Juan Soto was replaced by Alex Verdugo after a rain delay with the Minnesota Twins came to an end. The team announced the outfielder is dealing with "left forearm soreness."

Then, word got out that No. 1 Yankees prospect Jasson Dominguez was pulled from Thursday night's Triple-A Scranton game following the seventh inning.

The obvious assumption here is not one Yankees fans will want to hear. Pulling Dominguez could be a sign New York is bringing him in to replace Soto.

Is that really what's happening?

Jasson Dominguez and Juan Soto both exit early: Could it be coincidence?

Some have suggested that Dominguez's early exit actually came before the rain delay was called at Yankee Stadium but the actual timing isn't clear. There's better evidence to suggest this is all a really unfortunate coincidence.

Yankees Prospect Watch pointed out that Dominguez has been pulled early from all of his starts in center field. He is rehabbing from elbow surgery and has been incrementally increasing his workload.

That's the best-case scenario. It's entirely possible Dominguez's early exit was planned while Soto's early exit was purely precautionary.

At the same time, we simply don't know for certain. Dominguez might not even be ready to help the Yankees in this scenario. And even if Dominguez wasn't pulled in preparation for a Soto absence, Soto could still have a problem.

Soto isn't one to miss time for nothing. The Yankees had a three-run lead with four innings to play. It's hard to believe he would have taken himself out if it wasn't completely necessary.

New York has a massive series against the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning on Friday. It's a clash of World Series contenders, so a Soto injury the night before is extremely disappointing. The only thing left to do is hope he doesn't have to miss any time.

UPDATE: The Yankees confirmed that Dominguez's early exit was a planned part of his rehab.