SEATTLE — Two days after speaking openly about his upcoming free agent bonanza, New York Yankees star right fielder Juan Soto found himself on the ground at T-Mobile Park on Thursday, having smashed his left knee on the wall while making a sliding catch. He is set to undergo an X-ray.
“I feel like it’s just the adrenaline of the game,“ said Soto, who remained on the ground for several minutes after the collision. “We’re trying to keep the game right there on the line and go out there and try our best. Like you mentioned, free agency and this and that, when I go in those lines, I forget about everything. I literally just focus on the game and trying to win the game and help the team to do the best.”
The play happened with one out and two runners on in the seventh inning with the Yankees trailing by a run. Seattle Mariners infielder Jorge Polanco hit a high fly ball off reliever Tim Hill that tailed toward the right-field corner. Soto raced toward it and slid. He hit his knee on the wall, got up to throw the ball back into the infield, and immediately fell back down in pain.
Juan Soto remained in the game after making an outstanding sliding catch on Thursday.
Soto will undergo precautionary X-rays, per Yankees manager Aaron Boone. pic.twitter.com/abmTZGaRLG
— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2024
Manager Aaron Boone, center fielder Aaron Judge and Yankees trainers crowded around him. Soto stayed in the game for the remainder of the Yankees’ 3-2 loss.
“My biggest fear was that he twisted something, and I think sliding like that kind of probably preserved him a little bit,” Boone said. “Banged his knee pretty good, you know. So as of now we’ll get X-rays just to make sure. But as of now, looks like he’ll be OK.”
Initially, at least, the collision could be nothing more than a close call for Soto, who enters free agency at just 25 years old. It has been speculated that he could receive one of the richest contracts in MLB history. The Athletic’s Tim Britton recently projected a Soto deal that could be worth $560 million.
Soto has maybe even exceeded expectations in his platform year.
As of Thursday night, his .993 OPS was the third-highest in the game, behind just Judge (1.142) and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (1.005). He was hitting .286 with a career-high 40 home runs and 103 RBIs. Soto was also second in baseball in walks with 124.
Soto said that the pain in his knee decreased rapidly once he sat down in the outfield and rested for a few minutes.
“That’s why I got up right away,” he said. “I wanted to see. I wanted to test it. It felt fine”
But after the game, Soto said that while the knee felt “pretty good,” it was still after receiving treatment. He said that he suspected it’s bruised. He also said that while it “feels better,” he still felt pain in his knee when he was running and when he tried to swing. He didn’t commit to being in the lineup when the Yankees play their next game at Oakland on Friday night against the Athletics.
Soto said he was initially “really worried” that he was hurt and that he felt “a lot of pain in my kneecap.”
“Definitely a little scary right there,” he said.
(Top photo of Aaron Judge checking on Juan Soto, who on Thursday collided with the outfield wall: Stephen Brashear / Getty Images)
