The Braves announced today that left-hander Max Fried has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 18, with left forearm neuritis. Lefty Dylan Dodd was recalled in a corresponding move.
At this point, it’s unclear how significant Fried’s injury is or when it occurred. His most recent outing for Atlanta saw him throw six innings against the Diamondbacks on July 11. He was selected to the National League All-Star team and then tossed a scoreless inning against the American League in that game. Until he was placed on the IL, there had been no public reporting that anything was amiss.
More information will likely be forthcoming but this figures to be a significant development either way. Atlanta came into this season with a front five in their rotation of Fried, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton,Chris Sale and Reynaldo López. Strider required UCL surgery in April and is done for the year.
For as long as Fried is out, the club will be down to a rotation nucleus of Morton, Sale and López, who are each having great years but with some lingering concerns. Sale has been frequently injured in recent seasons and his 110 innings thrown this year are the most for him since 2019. López started earlier in his career but was moved to the bullpen a few years ago. Atlanta has moved him back to the rotation with success but he has also thrown more innings this year than he has since 2019. Morton continues to find success but is now 40 years old and his strikeout rate is down for a third straight year.
Atlanta is currently 54-43 on the year, 7.5 games back of the Phillies in the East division but currently holding the top Wild Card spot. Given their rotation situation, they were probably going to be looking for upgrades before the July 30 deadline but it’s possible that search will now ramp up with this injury to Fried. Some potential trade candidates include Jack Flaherty, Yusei Kikuchi, Garrett Crochet and many more.
In the meantime, they will have to cobble things together behind Morton, Sale and López. They don’t have an off-day between now and the deadline and played a double-header against the Cardinals yesterday. Neither Hurston Waldrep nor Huascar Ynoa will be able to help out, as both of them are currently on the IL. Ynoa started a rehab assignment on July 16 but only tossed two innings and probably needs a few more outings to build up.
Spencer Schwellenbach is having a good start to his career and should stick around, though it’s also only been eight starts so far. Ian Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery last year but has been rehabbing lately, with five starts on the farm in recent weeks. Bryce Elder, AJ Smith-Shawver, Allan Winans, Darius Vines and Dodd are also on the 40-man and could be in the mix to help out.
For Fried personally, he is headed for free agency at the end of this season and was trending towards a nice payday. He has over 800 innings on his track record with a 3.08 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 54.1% ground ball rate, with health not being a huge factor for most of the time. From 2019 to 2022, he made at least 28 starts in each full season and also took the ball 11 times in the shortened 2020 campaign. He also added just under 60 playoff innings in that four-year stretch.
He did miss about three months last year due to a left forearm strain, in addition to missing time due to a hamstring strain and a blister. He only made 14 starts last year but had been putting together a nice season in 2024 prior to this injury. He has already thrown 108 innings over 18 starts with a 3.08 ERA. His 21.5% strikeout rate is down a bit but he’s made opponents pound the ball into the ground at a 59% clip.
Fried placed fifth on MLBTR’s recent Free Agent Power Rankings, the #2 pitcher behind Corbin Burnes. He could still maintain that kind of earning power if he returns after a relatively brief absence and continues putting up strong numbers, but a more significant departure would obviously have an impact there as well.
The Braves placed left-hander Max Fried on the 15-day injured list Sunday, backdated to July 18, with left forearm neuritis
neuritis
Neuritis (/njʊəˈraɪtɪs/), from the Greek νεῦρον), is inflammation of a nerve or the general inflammation of the peripheral nervous system. Inflammation, and frequently concomitant demyelination, cause impaired transmission of neural signals and leads to aberrant nerve function.
ATLANTA -- Braves All-Star left-hander Max Fried was placed on the 15-day injured list with forearm neuritis, a nerve inflammation, in a move retroactive to Thursday, the Braves announced Sunday.
On December 19, 2014, the Padres traded Fried, Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, and Mallex Smith to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Justin Upton and Aaron Northcraft. Fried missed the entire 2015 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Early on Sunday, Dylan Dodd was recalled to Atlanta as Max Fried was placed on the injured list with left forearm neuritis. With the news being unexpected and the fact that Max Fried had missed the majority of his 2023 season with forearm issues, there was plenty of reason for immediate concern.
A UCLA signee, Fried is cerebral and determined; his late-season dip notwithstanding, he projects as a potential No. 2 starter in the big leagues with a chance to be a No. 1.
In the ninth inning of Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Cardinals at Truist Park, Ozzie Albies left the game with an apparent left wrist injury and postgame X-rays revealed a fractured left wrist. Albies is headed to the injured list and will miss approximately eight weeks.
The Braves rotation suffered a significant blow on Sunday, as All-Star left-hander Max Fried was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday, with left forearm neuritis.
Intentional walks -- which count as a walk for the hitter and a walk allowed by the pitcher -- are an important strategy in the context of a game. They can be used to put a runner on first base, setting up a potential double play.
— Nobody wins like Max Fried, the left-handed ace of the Atlanta Braves. In seven seasons, Fried is 62-26, a palindromic record that reads like a DJ Khaled anthem. All he does is win, win, win, no matter what. There are 78 active major leaguers with at least 75 career decisions.
Starting pitchers, as the position name indicates, are the pitchers that begin each game on the mound for a team. Starters were long asked to pitch as deep into games as possible, although many clubs in modern baseball employ pitch counts and will not let starting pitchers throw many more than 100 pitches in a start.
Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown (58) throws a pitch in the top of the second inning during the MLB game between the Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros on June 25, 2024 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
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