HOUSTON — Juan Soto’s time with the Yankees has arrived.
Only one season is guaranteed, but Soto will make his long-awaited Yankees debut Thursday against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
“I can’t wait to see him go out there and destroy the Broncs,” manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday.
The Bronx won’t be able to welcome Soto until next week, as the Yankees open the season with a seven-game road trip.
But Soto will be batting second on Thursday with Aaron Judge behind him in what could be one of the most dangerous offensive pairings in the game.
The Yankees sacrificed pitching depth to acquire Soto in a trade with the Padres in December, even though the 25-year-old outfielder was entering his senior year.
However, this generation of talent has the potential to improve the Yankees’ batting lineup, providing a much-needed left-handed, high-on-base threat.
The Yankees have been impressed since they started getting to know Soto better during spring training.
“Professional,” said the judge. “You can watch him from a distance and see the numbers he’s achieved and what he’s done on the field, but you never really see behind the scenes. This guy shows up and does his job. The other day he didn’t like his swing in the game, so he goes back to the cage and practices with the hitting coaches. It’s really impressive to see him up close.
“And when he steps on the field, what he brings to the team, just the excitement, the thrill, the energy, it’s special.”
Soto, who busted out early in camp, has been a little sick over the last few weeks and missed the Yankees’ trip to Mexico City in order to return to Tampa and fine-tune his swing.
But Boone believes he is in good shape mentally and physically for the season.
“I think he’s ready to roll,” Boone said.
DJ LeMahieu fouled a ball on March 16 and suffered a severe bone bruise in his right foot, so he returned to Tampa to continue his rehabilitation.
The veteran third baseman, who will begin the season on the injured list, is scheduled to undergo another MRI exam on Friday.
Mr. Boone was asked whether Mr. LeMahieu’s departure would be short-term.
“I hope so, but I don’t know,” Boone said. “As we’ve gotten better, I just want to say, I know one day he went for a grounder and it wasn’t good. The pain is still there. So I wanted to make it tolerable. So I don’t know if it’s going to translate into hitting and defense in a few days, but I know where he went the other day and tried it out, but not enough. There wasn’t.”
It was revealed that two Yankees players suffered orbital fractures on the same day this week.
In addition to Oscar Gonzalez, who suffered a fractured right orbit after being hit in the face by a ball in an exhibition in Mexico City on Monday, infield prospect Jovit Vivas also suffered a fractured left orbit after being injured during pregame practice in Tampa. Diagnosed.
Vivas saw an eye doctor on Thursday and is scheduled to see a further specialist on Friday. Meanwhile, Gonzalez has been released from a hospital in Mexico City, where she is scheduled to see an eye doctor on Thursday and could fly back to Tampa this weekend.
Boone said there is no set timetable for either player’s return, but both players plan to start the season in Triple-A if healthy.
