The Braves announced Sunday 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 its rotation of Fried, Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez. 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 Lopez, 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. Lopez 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 its rotation situation, it was probably going to be looking for upgrades before the July 30 deadline but the search may 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, the Braves will have to cobble things together behind Morton, Sale and Lopez. 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 toward a nice payday. He has over 800 innings on his track record with a 3.08 ERA, 23.7 percent strikeout rate, 6.7 percent walk rate and 54.1 percent 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 those four years.
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 before this injury. He has already thrown 108 innings over 18 starts with a 3.08 ERA. His 21.5 percent strikeout rate is down a bit, but he’s made opponents pound the ball into the ground at a 59 percent clip.
Fried placed fifth on MLBTR’s recent Free Agent Power Rankings, the No. 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 have an impact there as well.
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