Yankees Make Curious Pitching Move Against Braves

Hamilton, who is currently sporting a 3.47 ERA in 36 1/3 innings this season, has opened for New York in the past. He did so on three occasions during the 2023 campaign, but it's an interesting move on the club's part nonetheless.

Max Fried typically would've received the nod in this spot, especially considering it would have marked his first start back in Atlanta, a place he called home for the first eight years of his major league career before signing an eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees this past offseason.

He was pulled from his outing vs. the Chicago Cubs last Saturday with a blister on his left index finger, but the main reasoning behind New York's peculiar pitching plans may be the fact that it's set to take on the Toronto Blue Jays in a three-game series early next week from July 21 to July 23.

Keeping Fried off the bump in Atlanta gives him additional time to recover while also lining him up for an important outing vs. the Blue Jays, whom the Yankees are currently two games back of for first place in the AL East.

The same goes for Carlos Rodón, Fried's fellow All-Star left-hander, and perhaps rookie right-hander Cam Schlittler as well. The 24-year-old could potentially follow Hamilton and throw a majority of the Yankees' innings on Friday night, though it wouldn't come as a surprise if he were being held back to face Toronto as well.

The Yankees have yet to fully talk through their thought process, but it appears as though they're prioritizing their impending showdown with the Blue Jays over their series against the Braves.

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