Max Fried will be going on IL for the second time this season for the red-hot Atlanta Braves.
The Atlanta Braves are a fantastic baseball team, but my goodness, they cannot stay healthy…
After an atrocious outing vs. the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, Braves ace Max Fried will be doing his second stint of the year on IL with a left forearm strain. He went on IL after Opening Day when tweaking his hamstring trying to cover the first base bag vs. the Washington Nationals. Although this is very early in the year for the Braves, Fried is losing leverage in his contract talks.
Atlanta will be bringing up left-hander Danny Young to take Fried's place on the 25-man roster.
With Kyle Wright on the IL for essentially the second time this season with right shoulder inflammation, Braves pitching coach Rick Kranitz has to be so incredibly close to losing his mind.
Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried to make his second stint on IL this season already
Fried may be pushing 30 and has one year of arbitration left, but these early-season injuries could play a part in keeping Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos from extending him. Atlanta is the only club Fried has played for at the highest level. When he is on, he is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Unfortunately, he is starting to develop somewhat of an injury-proned nature of late.
If there is any good news for the Braves rotation, it is that Spencer Strider remains largely unhittable, Bryce Elder looks like he is here to stay and Charlie Morton is an ageless wonder. Of course, Atlanta is probably not winning the World Series if the Braves cannot count on Fried and Wright in October. It is about treading water in the early part of the year, only to get hot later on.
Ultimately, this injury for Fried does not seem as bad as one would think. With his stint on the IL being backdated to May 6, there is a good chance he will be back well before the end of the month. Unfortunately, this move probably indicates that he will miss his next two or three starts for the Braves. Other guys will have opportunities to step up, but man, if this team could just get healthy…
Look for Atlanta to be so cautious with Fried, much like the Braves were with his hamstring injury.