Padres News: Juan Soto Has No WBC Restrictions Following Calf Strain

Friars trust the health of their young star.

One of the best things about the World Baseball Classic is that it has given us a first look at some of our own San Diego guys in Manny Machado, Nelson Cruz, Luis Garcia, and Juan Soto as they play together on the Dominican Republic. All of them have bene given the opportunity to represent their countries while also getting some lives games under them to prepare for the 2023 season.

Soto actually joined the DR a little bit later than previously planned due to a calf strain sustained during a Spring Training workout. Despite the 24-year-old insisting that he could play through it, he still stayed with the Padres for some extra days to monitor it before departing to the WBC.

During a media session provided by '97.3 The Fan', team manager Bob Melvin replied with a "No" when asked if any restrictions were placed on Soto for his time with the DR and said the Friars have no problem with him playing back-to-back games.

Padres manager Bob Melvin was asked if the Padres put any restrictions on Juan Soto's availability in the World Baseball Classic for Team Dominican Republic: pic.twitter.com/wLavphqiBe

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) March 13, 2023

"No, you know, Ben's with him, one of our trainers," said Melvin. "So he's updating us on how he's doing, you know, he's doing fine. If there's anything that pops up, whether it's a DH day or something like that, we'll see how it goes."

It is quite good to see Melvin and the rest of the Padres training stuff displaying trust in their star and allowing him to perform to his full availability with his country. This is a relationship that has been built since last year and one that the franchise looks to grow amidst Soto's looming extension situation.

Soto just helped the DR win their first WBC match this tournament against Nicaragua. He went 2-4 at the plate and notched a solo home run on route to a 6-1 victory.

JUAN SOTO HOME RUN pic.twitter.com/aOHPqPbL3z

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 13, 2023