BALTIMORE — Max Fried has pitched through discomfort before. Wednesday, the discomfort had the final say.
The Yankees left-hander walked off the mound at Camden Yards after three innings. The team announced he was dealing with left elbow posterior soreness. By the time Fried had finished speaking to reporters after the Yankees’ 7-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, one word stood above the rest: MRI.
Fried was set to fly back to New York on Thursday for imaging and an examination by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad. The results will determine whether the Yankees’ $218 million ace can stay in the rotation or becomes their second starter on the injured list this season.
Yankees saw trouble building from inning one
The Yankees coaching staff noticed something was wrong early. Fried’s fastball, which normally operates around 95 mph, was sitting at 88-91 mph at the beginning of each inning. It took multiple batters just to get his arm loose, and then the inning would end and the same problem started again.
After Baltimore scored twice in the third inning, Fried walked off the field and headed straight into the clubhouse. Pitching coach Matt Blake signaled the bullpen. Paul Blackburn warmed up and took over the fourth inning in the Yankees’ 7-0 defeat.
Fried surrendered three earned runs on five hits. He struck out two and walked one. It was the first time in 10 starts this season the 32-year-old failed to reach the sixth inning.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone explained what made the decision to remove Fried obvious.
“His stuff was down,” Boone said. “It would take him two, three hitters in the inning to get to 95 (mph) when he needed it. He was just having a hard time getting ramped up.”
Boone also described his conversation with Fried after the third inning and why it was enough to make the call.
“I just knew he was a little off, so I talked to him after that third,” Boone said. “He was just telling me he was having a hard time getting it. I just said, ‘Let’s pull it here.'”
Fried explains why Wednesday was different
Fried told reporters that similar elbow discomfort had surfaced in multiple Yankees starts this season. Normally it faded quickly. This time it stayed.
He described the sensation as similar to hyperextending the back of the elbow or banging it hard against something. The Yankees pitcher said he had been managing and treating the issue between starts, expecting it to clear. Wednesday it lingered from the first warm-up pitch to the last.
Fried was asked directly what he felt on the mound and answered in full.
“I would say it’s hard to completely explain,” Fried said. “It’s a little uncomfortable, tight, especially in-between innings. It was just hard for me to kind of warm up, loosen up. The first hitter of the inning, (fastballs) would be like 88-90-91 (mph), and by the end, the fourth or fifth hitter, 20 pitches in, I’m able to kind of get things loosened up.
“But I just wasn’t sharp, and it was just hard to kind of keep bouncing back. I definitely wasn’t helping the team. I could have kept pitching, but at that point I was just like, ‘Hey, let’s make sure that we can kind of calm this thing down and try to get ahead of it.'”
When pressed to summarize the state of his elbow in plain terms, Fried did not soften it.
“This one, I think it’s just probably one too many times and it’s just a little irritated and a little pissed off,” he said.
Even so, Fried kept his tone measured when discussing the MRI and what he expected from it.
“I guess you never know, but I’m definitely planning on this thing being a sooner rather than later,” he said. “I’m not too worried about a super long-term thing. If I can, I’d love to be able to make my next start, but we’ll see.”
What the MRI means for the Yankees
The imaging results carry enormous weight. Fried underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014, so any elbow issue draws serious attention. The posterior location of Wednesday’s soreness, away from the inner elbow where the ulnar collateral ligament sits, may be a better sign than it could have been. But nothing can be confirmed until the MRI is read.
The Yankees are known for erring on the side of caution with their pitchers, particularly with starters under long-term contracts. Given that Fried is in the second year of an eight-year deal, placing him on the 15-day IL seems likely even if imaging shows no structural damage.
Fried entered Wednesday leading the majors with 61 2/3 innings pitched. He carried a 3.21 ERA in 10 starts as the Yankees’ top arm while Gerrit Cole completes his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Cole has made five minor league rehab starts and is expected to join the Yankees in late May or early June.
The plan was always for Fried and Cole to anchor the Yankees’ rotation together. A Fried injury would put that vision on hold.
Yankees depth faces a real test
If Fried is placed on the injured list, the Yankees would need a spot starter as early as May 18 for a series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. The current Yankees rotation of Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodon, Ryan Weathers and Will Warren would carry the weight. Rodon recently returned from the IL. Minor league options Elmer Rodriguez and Brendan Beck have each made big league appearances this season.
A Fried IL stint would also, almost by accident, answer one of the Yankees‘ lingering questions: how to create a roster slot for Cole when he is ready to return.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge took the podium after the loss and spoke about Fried with both concern and measured confidence in the team’s depth.
“It’s always a little concern anytime any of your pitchers have any issue with the elbow or shoulder,” Judge said. “I’m hoping to hear some good news. Max is a tough kid. He’s meant a lot to this organization since he came over here. That’s why we went after him and signed him.
“I think that’s one thing that’s helped us this year though is our depth, we got a lot of depth around here. So if something happens, guys will step up and fill that hole.”
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