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NEW YORK — Star outfielder Juan Soto was out of the New York Yankees‘ starting lineup for the third straight game when his club played its series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers but could return at Kansas City on Monday night.

Soto is being treated for left forearm inflammation. He missed the opening two games of the weekend set, both by won the Dodgers, 2-1 in 11 innings on Friday and 11-3 on Saturday.

Manager Aaron Boone said Soto might be an option off the bench Sunday night and could be in the starting lineup and play the outfield against the Royals.

“That’s the hope,” Boone said. “We’re not worried about him doing anything that he’s got to do baseball-wise. It’s just based on how he’s doing and how he’s feeling. He should be good to go.”

New York had scored only four runs in 23 innings at the plate since Soto left Thursday night’s 8-5 win over Minnesota. Three came on two solo homers Saturday by Aaron Judge and his RBI single in the 11th inning of the opener.

In losing the first two games to the Dodgers, the Yankees hit .200 (15 for 75), including .067 (1 for 15) with runners in scoring position.

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.

A scan Friday did not reveal any problems with his elbow, the Yankees said.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo, in a 1-for-29 slide this month, also was out of the starting lineup. Boone said he also might rest Rizzo on Monday.

“It was on my mind a little bit, but just, yeah, it felt like today was the day and we’ll see where we go from here,” Boone said. “He’s been productive through stretches here. It’s just these last two, three weeks it’s been a struggle for him. But he’s working through it and confident he’ll get through it.”

A three-time All-Star who turns 35 in August, Rizzo is hitting .224 with seven homers and 25 RBIs.

New York also designated right-hander Dennis Santana for assignment and recalled right-hander Ron Marinaccio from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Boone said Jasson Domínguez is getting close to being available for a return to the Yankees if needed on the big league club. The 21-year-old outfielder, coming back from Tommy John surgery on Sept. 20, was 4 for 5 with a home run for Scranton on Sunday and was hitting .500 (10 for 20) with two home runs and three doubles in five games since he was transferred on his rehab assignment to New York’s top farm team.

“He is playing well and in a good spot and we certainly know what he’s capable of, and when it’s his time, we’ll be excited for that because we know what kind of impact he can have,” Boone said. “But we’re not going to rush that, either.”

Domínguez is batting .380 with six homers and 12 RBIs in 19 games since starting his minor league injury rehabilitation assignment on May 14. He homered in his major league debut last Sept. 1 and hit .258 with four homers and seven RBIs in eight games before a scan revealed the torn elbow ligament.

“The time he’s going to come up here, he’s going to play,” Boone said. “So that avenue is going to have to be there.”

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

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Sources: Red Sox deal Devers to Giants in stunner

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Sunday evening.

The Giants are sending starter Jordan Hicks and 23-year-old lefty Kyle Harrison, among others, to Boston in exchange, sources said.

Devers, 28, is in just the second season of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed to stay in Boston in January 2023, however his relationship with the team suffered a significant blow after the star third baseman was reportedly blindsided by a move to designated hitter in the spring.

Tensions flared again last month after Devers refused an offer from the team to move him to first base after starting first baseman Triston Casas was ruled out for the season with a knee injury.

It reached a point where Red Sox owner John Henry met with the disgruntled star, making a rare trip to meet the team on the road and smooth things over after Devers’ pointed comments about the request to switch positions again.

Hicks and Harrison give a pitching-starved Red Sox team more depth on their staff while Devers provides a huge boost to a middling Giants offense.

Devers has more than 200 career home runs to his name and has a .894 OPS for Boston this season.

The deal was first reported by Fansided.

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Ohtani’s pitching return might be coming soon

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Ohtani's pitching return might be coming soon

Shohei Ohtani‘s pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers might be quickly approaching.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Sunday that Ohtani would throw another simulated game in the coming days that could “potentially” be his last one, and a source told ESPN’s Buster Olney that Ohtani should join the Dodgers’ rotation “sooner rather than later,” potentially within the week.

Ohtani took a big step forward during his most recent simulated game at Petco Park on Tuesday, throwing 44 pitches over the course of three innings against a couple of lower-level minor league players. Ohtani’s fastball reached the mid- to upper-90s, and he exhibited good command of his off-speed pitches in what amounted to his third time facing hitters. Afterward, Roberts said there was a “north of zero” chance Ohtani could join the rotation before the All-Star break.

Because of his two-way designation, the Dodgers can carry Ohtani as an extra pitcher, which means he can throw two to three innings and have someone pitch after him as a piggyback starter. At this point, it seems that is the Dodgers’ plan.

The Dodgers’ pitching staff has again been plagued by injury, with 14 pitchers on the injured list, including four starting pitchers the team was heavily counting on for 2025 — Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow.

If Ohtani returns in July — the likely outcome at this point — he will be 22 months removed from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament.

The update isn’t as optimistic for Sasaki. He paused his throwing program and is set for a lengthy layoff. Sasaki has not pitched in a game since May 9 and is not part of the team’s long-term pitching plans this season.

“I think that’s what the mindset should be,” Roberts said. “Being thrust into this environment certainly was a big undertaking for him, and now you layer in the health part and the fact he’s a starting pitcher, knowing what the build-up [required to return] entails … I think that’s the prudent way to go about it.”

Sasaki, 23, went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA in eight starts after joining the Dodgers from the Pacific League’s Chuba Lotte Marines, averaging less than 4⅓ innings per start. He walked 22 and struck out 24 in 34⅓ innings, and his fastball averaged 95.7 mph, down 3-4 mph from his average in Japan.

Roberts said Sasaki was pain free when he resumed throwing in early June, but the pitcher was shut down after feeling discomfort this past week. Sasaki recently received a cortisone injection in the shoulder; Roberts said no further scans are planned.

“I don’t think it’s pain,” Roberts said. “I don’t know if it’s discomfort, if it’s tightness, if he’s just not feeling strong, whatever the adjective you want to use. That’s more of a question for Roki, as far as the sensation he’s feeling.

“He’s just not feeling like he can ramp it up, and we’re not going to push him to do something he doesn’t feel good about right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

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Judge 1-for-12 as NY swept: Got to swing at strikes

BOSTON — Aaron Judge blamed himself for swinging at pitches outside the strike zone as the New York Yankees were swept in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

“You got to swing at strikes,” Judge said after going 1-for-12 in the series, which Boston completed with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

Judge struck out three or more times in three straight games for only the third time in his major league career.

“That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes,” Judge added. “Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

Judge had a tying solo homer in the opener Friday night but struck out nine times as the Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season.

New York scored only four runs in the three games, matching its fewest in a three-game series at Fenway Park, on June 20-22, 1916 and on Sept. 28-30, 1922.

“It’s very hard,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of facing Judge. “He’s so good at what he does. We used our fastballs in the right spots, we got some swing and misses.”

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Judge’s major league-leading average dipped to .378.

“I don’t think much of it,” teammate Ben Rice said. “If I could have that guy hitting every single at-bat even if he’s not at his best, I would do it. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. He’ll be all right.”

Judge faced Garrett Whitlock with two on in the eighth Sunday and bounced into an inning-ending double play.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

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