Max Fried is a vital part of the Atlanta Braves rotation. Over the past couple of years, he’s emerged as one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, as he finished second in the National League Cy Young Award voting last season. Not only did he help the Braves win the NL East in 2022, and he played a pivotal role in the team’s World Series run the previous season.
But as the Braves move through their schedule and prepare for the summer’s dog days, they’ll be without Fried for a while.
While Atlanta placed Fried on the 15-day injured list with a strained left forearm on Tuesday, the move was backdated to May 6. That doesn’t mean that Fried will return sooner than later. In fact, according to Mark Bowman who covers the Braves for MLB.com, the expectation is that Fried will be sidelined for at least two months.
The news of Fried hitting the injured list for the second time this season was met with a lot of angst.
The left-handed starter had a massive year for Atlanta in 2022. Fried (14-8) threw 185.1 innings over 30 outings, posting a 2.48 ERA and 1.014 WHIP, allowing 7.6 hits per nine innings while also posting a K/9 rate of 8.3. Fried has pitched to a 2-1 record this season and has thrown 26 innings over five outings, posting a 2.08 ERA.
The Braves are running away with the NL East, though it’s still early. However, if the team doesn’t get Fried back until after the All-Star break, it could hamper their chances of winning the division. The Braves have already been able to pick up the slack when Fried has already missed time this season.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.