Erik Boland: Struggling Yankees hoping for the best after Max Fried exits in 3rd inning with sore elbow
Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried delivers during the first inning against the Orioles on Wednesday in Baltimore. Credit: AP/Stephanie Scarbrough
BALTIMORE – This was about the only kind of news capable of shoving the Yankees’ worst trip of a still young season to secondary-story status.
Lefthander Max Fried, a stalwart of the club’s pitching staff the last two seasons, on Thursday will undergo testing for imaging on his throwing elbow.
That is the kind of news that leaves a club in the position of hoping for the best and bracing for the worst.
“I guess you never know,” Fried said of his concern level Wednesday after the Yankees’ 7-0 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards, their fifth defeat in the last six games. “But I’m definitely planning on this thing being a sooner rather than later [situation]. Don’t want to put any timelines or anything like that. Obviously, we’ll find out tomorrow.”
Fried said the soreness was a “this game thing,” and not something that had been bothering him previously.
“I’m not too worried about a super long-term thing,” Fried said. “If I can, I would love to be able to make my next start, but we’ll see.”
Manager Aaron Boone also used the same phrase — “we’ll see” — and Aaron Judge gave voice to not only the clubhouse but the organization when it comes to pitchers being sent for testing.
“There’s always a little concern any time any of your pitchers have any issues, anything with the elbow, shoulder, stuff like that,” Judge said. “But I’m hoping to hear some good news. Max is a tough kid. He’s done a lot for this organization since he came over here. That’s why we went after him and signed him. I don’t have a lot of info but hopefully we hear some good news soon.”
Fried (4-3, 3.21), coming off a rough start Friday night in Milwaukee in which he allowed five runs, six hits and three walks in a 6-0 loss, was again not sharp Wednesday when he allowed three runs, five hits and a walk in three innings.
He struggled to describe his 61-pitch outing, and his words weren’t brimming with optimism. The primary issue, he said, was his fastball velocity; his four-seamer sat well below its usual mid-90s range.
“Just kind of, whether it’s like a hyperextended [feeling] or just like banged kind of that back of the elbow triceps area,” Fried said. “Just a little uncomfortable, tight, especially in between innings. It [was] hard for me to kind of warm up, loosen up.
“First hitter of the inning would be like 88 [mph], 90, 91, and by the end, fourth, fifth hitter, 20 pitches in, I’m able to kind of get things loosened up . . . could have kept pitching but, at that point, it was just like, ‘Hey, let’s make sure that we can kind of calm this thing down and try to get ahead of it.’ ”
What the “it” is, naturally, is the critical question.
Boone said, “I knew he was a little off” and talked to the pitcher after the third inning.
“He was just kind of telling me he was having a hard time getting it [the velocity], and I said, let’s pull it here,” Boone said.
The manager’s concern level?
“In talking to him, not that concerned,” Boone said. “But we’ll do all the testing and whatnot tomorrow. He doesn’t seem too concerned about it, but we’ll see.”
Fried is part of a rotation that has been the backbone of the Yankees’ strong start. Even after losing five of six on the road, the Yankees, whose Bad News Bats produced all of one hit Wednesday, are still 27-17, the second-best mark in the AL.
The Yankees’ rotation entered Wednesday with an American League-best 3.07 ERA, which ranked second in the majors (trailing Atlanta’s 3.06).
If Fried requires some time on the injured list, the club should be in position to withstand that blow. Carlos Rodon just rejoined the rotation and Gerrit Cole, who missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, should be back within the next two weeks.
Ryan Weathers (2-2, 3.00 ERA), the most likely member of the rotation to be shifted to the bullpen when Cole returns, has been mostly terrific. There’s also Will Warren (5-1, 3.42) and Cam Schlittler (5-1, 1.35), the latter the current favorite to be the AL starter for July’s All-Star Game.
Prospect Elmer Rodriguez, though not great in his two starts earlier this season, still provides quality organizational rotation depth, and minor- league flamethrower Carlos Lagrange, who has thrown the fastest pitch in Triple-A this season (102.8 mph), lingers as well.
But Fried is Fried, a pitcher who ranks among the best in the game, one not easily replaced.
Before any of that, however, is the wait for Thursday’s test results.
“Just not a good day for us,” Boone said of his club’s Wednesday afternoon.
Just how bad soon to be determined.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
