Braves' Max Fried scratched from Friday start due to possible COVID-19 exposure

Atlanta Braves left-hander Max Fried is coming off his best season, to date, and was set to make his spring training debut Friday versus the Minnesota Twins.

The 27-year-old will now have to wait. 

According to Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters that he's scratched Fried from Friday's appearance because the southpaw was potentially exposed to somebody infected with COVID-19. 

"He was potential exposure, so we’re laying him low for a couple days," Snitker explained. He added that Fried hasn't yet tested positive for the coronavirus. 

During the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Fried tallied a 7-0 record with a 2.25 ERA and a 50:19 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He finished fifth in National League Cy Young Award voting. 

MLB has, for the most part, dodged bullets and done well in containing COVID-19 cases throughout the first several weeks of spring training. Last Friday, MLB and the MLB Players Association announced that only three new players returned positive coronavirus results in the previous round of testing. It's expected they will update those numbers each Friday. 

American League Most Valuable Player Jose Abreu, AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, and Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Tim Locastro are among those who have tested positive since players reported for team activities last month.