Max Fried is officially back on the injured list with a recurring bone bruise in his left elbow. This gut punch lands right as Carlos Rodon made his return from his own IL stint. It’s a cruel twist for a Yankees team that’s been leaning heavily on its pitching all season, trying to mask an offense described as inconsistent and unreliable, especially without Aaron Judge.
The Rotation That Can’t Quite Gel
The Yankees walked into this week thinking they finally had their pitching rotation locked down. Carlos Rodon was back. Max Fried looked like he was turning a corner, giving up one run or fewer in four out of five starts since his first IL return. Gerrit Cole already had 100 strikeouts in 92 innings pitched. Cam Schlittler was leading all American League starters with a 2.19 ERA. This was supposed to be the strength carrying them through the final month of the regular season. But nope. The plan blew up. Since the Yankees signed Fried last year, that dream trio of Cole, Rodon, and Fried has yet to appear in the rotation together. The timing is absolutely brutal.
“A Little Breather Now” But What Does That Mean?
Fried landed back on the IL with that recurring bone bruise, which first showed up in May. He’d settled back into the rotation after the All-Star break, even pitching five innings of one-run ball against the Mariners when the pain returned. He’s comparing this current stint to the earlier one, saying, “Before, it was definitely more intense, more pain.” This time, he added, it’s “similar, but just on a smaller scale.” He said he wanted to be transparent with the staff, “knowing that we have a big goal at hand.” Fried needs tons of rest for the bone to heal, and that’s not happening until the offseason. He’s optimistic about only needing the minimum 15 days on the shelf, telling reporters, “You don’t want it to get too bad where it turns into a fracture.” But the team will have to be super cautious with him moving forward to avoid re-aggravating it. He thinks fixing his mechanics will help and plans to work on his timing for the next couple of weeks. He’s set to throw a bullpen session Saturday, and the team will be watching closely to see if that elbow inflammation starts to go down. For now, surgery is… well, it’s not the path.
So, the Yankees are left to figure out how to survive without Fried again, navigating a really tricky situation. With the season winding down, they need this inflammation to chill out and Fried’s timing to click, fast. Can they protect him from himself and keep that bone bruise from becoming a nightmare? We’ll be watching.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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