Yankees Injury Updates: Max Fried, Austin Wells

Fried has been on the 15-day injured list since May 14 with a left elbow bone bruise. That being said, the Yankees dodged a bullet considering there was no structural damage to Fried's elbow.

Fried should be back in the coming weeks to boost an already strong Yankees' starting rotation that features Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Cam Schlittler, Ryan Weathers and Will Warren.

Fried, 32, is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 50 strikeouts in 61.2 innings (10 starts) this season. Last year, Fried was elite in his first campaign in the Bronx, posting a 19-5 record, 2.86 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 189 strikeouts in 195.1 innings (32 starts).

The Yankees signed Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal in the 2024-2025 offseason.

As for Wells, the struggling catcher landed on the injured list on Saturday due to cervical headaches.

According to Hoch, Wells will undergo imaging of his own on Monday instead of today. He will not travel with the Yankees to Cleveland.

Wells first reported a headache on Friday night. He does not have a concussion, per Yankees manager Aaron Boone.

The Yankees sent backup catcher J.C. Escarra to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday night and called up backstop Ali Sanchez. However, they were forced to recall Escarra the following day when Wells landed on the shelf.

Wells and Escarra have both struggled mightily at the plate this season. Wells is slashing just .166/.278/.255 with a .533 OPS, four home runs and seven RBI in 47 games. He slugged 21 homers, drove in 71 RBI and had a .711 OPS in 2025.

Escarra is hitting .177/.235/.258 with a .493 OPS, no homers and seven RBI in 22 games. The Yankees will hope that he or Sanchez can catch fire offensively. Sanchez and Escarra will likely be splitting catching duties with Wells out.

The Yankees really needed Wells to step up with the bat given superstar right fielder Aaron Judge is shut down for four to six weeks with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side. They will hope that Wells' cervical headaches subside and the imaging comes back clean.

New York enters their doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday with a 37-26 record and one game back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.