Max Fried set to return at perfect time for Yankees

The New York Yankees placed left-hander Max Fried on the 15-day injured list on Aug. 17 (retroactive to the 14th) with a bone bruise in his pitching elbow. The same injury diagnosis caused Fried to miss two months earlier this year, but he went through a far shorter recovery process this time. Fried will return Saturday to start one of the Yankees’ doubleheader matchups against the Red Sox, Greg Joyce of the New York Post relays.

Now in the second season of an eight-year, $218M contract, a record deal for a southpaw, a healthy Fried has thrived as a Yankee. The former Brave made 32 starts and turned in a 2.86 ERA over 195 1/3 innings last year. Fried’s absence from mid-May to late July this year stopped him from earning a second straight All-Star nod and the fourth of his career, but he has continued to provide front-line production.

Across 15 starts and 86 1/3 frames, Fried has logged a 2.81 ERA with above-average strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates of 23.8%, 8.1% and 49.1%, respectively. ERA estimators such as xERA (2.53) and FIP (2.56) back up those results, though xFIP (3.57) and SIERA (3.81) are more bearish on his work. Regardless, Fried’s return will offer a boost to a New York rotation that lost fellow lefty Ryan Weathers to a forearm flexor strain last week. Weathers landed on the IL on Aug. 23, and while there is hope he will pitch again this year, it may be as a reliever.

Once the Yankees officially activate Fried, he will rejoin AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Will Warren in their rotation. With Fried and Weathers down, the team recalled Elmer Rodríguez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start against the Astros on Wednesday. Rodriguez threw six innings of three-run ball in a 9-3 win, but the Yankees could send him back down to make room for Fried.

The 32-year-old Fried’s return comes at an ideal time for the Yankees, who began a pivotal four-game series against the archrival Red Sox on Friday. New York entered the evening with a slim two-game lead over Boston for the AL’s top wild-card spot. The two teams are also trying to chase down AL East-leading Tampa Bay (the Yankees are four back; the Red Sox have six games to make up).

If the Rays hold on to win the division, it is likely the Yankees and Red Sox will meet in the Wild Card round for the second year in a row. The Yankees capitalized on home-field advantage in 2025 to take two of three from the Red Sox and advance to the ALDS.