Opening Day starter for Braves could land on IL with hamstring strain

Braves left-hander Max Fried departed Thursday's Opening Day start after throwing just 43 pitches over 3 1/3 innings. The club would later announce that he was removed with left hamstring discomfort.

After the game, manager Brian Snitker told reporters, including Mark Bowman of MLB.com, that Fried will likely be placed on the injured list. Snitker also relayed specifically that the southpaw is dealing with a hamstring strain, per Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

At this early juncture, there is nothing to suggest Fried’s injury is particularly significant. Snitker said that his starter would miss at least one turn through the rotation, per David O’Brien of The Athletic, but given that IL stints for pitchers must last for a minimum of 15 days, any trip to the injured list would likely cost him at least a couple of trips to the mound.

Fried has been one of the better pitchers in the league over the past few years and came into Opening Day the owner of a career ERA of 3.09,  23.8 percent strikeout rate, 6.6 percent walk rate and 52.8 percent ground ball rate. He is also coming off the best season of his career, as he made 30 starts with a 2.48 ERA last summer while dropping his walk rate all the way down to 4.4 percent. Fried ultimately  finished second in National League Cy Young voting to Sandy Alcantara.

An injury to a player of Fried’s caliber would be problematic at any time but the rotation has some moving parts at this stage. Spring injuries to Kyle Wright and Michael Soroka, as well as underwhelming performances from Ian Anderson and Bryce Elder, mean that the club is planning for starts from rookies Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd early in the season.

While Wright is expected back after a minimum stint on the injured list, Fried’s absence will give the club an extra rotation hole to patch over for at least one start and perhaps a few.