BALTIMORE — Yankees Rotation Concerns After Fried’s Injury

It seems like just yesterday, the Yankees had to figure out how to make room in their rotation for Gerrit Cole. Oh, how quickly things can change—especially when Max Fried had to leave the game in the third inning due to an elbow issue.

The left-hander reported pain in the back of his left elbow, leading the Yankees to announce that he would undergo imaging tests in New York on Thursday. He’ll be evaluated by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad.

“You never know, but I’m definitely expecting this to happen at some point,” Fried commented after the Yankees fell to the Orioles, 7-0, at Camden Yards. “I’m not too worried about the long term since everything is set for the first test. Hopefully, I can bounce back for another start, but we’ll see.”

Even if the results of Thursday’s tests come back clear, that might just be wishful thinking on his part. Fried described his discomfort as feeling overstretched or bruised in the elbow and triceps region. He mentioned it’s something he’s been dealing with in several starts this season, and sometimes it fades quickly—like it did on Wednesday, when he didn’t feel right enough to continue.

“I might have pushed it a bit too often, and honestly, it’s frustrating,” Fried noted.

With Fried sidelined, the Yankees now have their eyes on the $218 million pitcher who had stepped up as the ace while Cole was recovering. Cole is close to finishing his rehab from Tommy John surgery and may be ready to return soon, but the original plan was to have both pitchers share the number one spot in the rotation.

Fried, who finished fourth in the AL Cy Young voting last year, came into Wednesday’s game with a 2.91 ERA. However, he struggled, giving up three runs in just three innings across 61 pitches. His decline was spotted early, leading to the coaching staff’s decision to pull him after the third inning.

“In talking to him, I’m not overly concerned yet, but we’ll definitely see how the tests go,” Manager Boone said. There’s some silver lining, though: Fried’s pain is in the back of his elbow, which could be less serious than issues with the ulnar collateral ligament—something he has dealt with before following Tommy John surgery in 2014.

“Anytime a pitcher has elbow or shoulder pain, it’s a cause for concern,” Aaron Judge added. “We’re hoping for good news. Max has been invaluable to this team since arriving, and that’s why we made the effort to get him.”

“What’s helped us this season has been our depth,” Fried reflected. “If anything happens, we have guys who can step up.”

Pitchers Cam Schlitzer, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers have all had promising starts, and Carlos Rodon just returned from the injured list on Sunday. Should Fried need to go on the injured list, the Yankees might face the challenge of finding a spot starter for next Tuesday, complicating Cole’s rehab schedule.

“I wasn’t sharp at all, and I could tell it was hard to keep my rhythm. I could have kept pushing through, but at that point, I decided it was better to take a step back,” Fried concluded.