Max Fried’s Elbow Injury Leaves Yankees Scrambling: How They Can Cope

The New York Yankees have been dealt a significant blow with the news that left-hander Max Fried has been placed on the injured list with a bone bruise in his pitching elbow. This is not the first time Fried has suffered from this injury, having missed two months earlier this year due to the same issue.

Fried, who is in the second season of an eight-year, $218 million contract, has been a vital part of the Yankees’ run prevention plan. The team has relied heavily on their pitching to stay competitive, particularly with their offense struggling. Despite scoring no more than three runs in 19 of their last 28 games, the Yankees have managed to stay ahead due to their exceptional pitching.

The Yankees have allowed only 3.39 runs per game since the All-Star break, a significant improvement from the second-place Mets, who have a 3.55 ERA. Fried’s injury is a major setback for the team, but manager Aaron Boone is optimistic that the veteran southpaw will only miss the required 15 days.

Replacing Fried in the Rotation

The Yankees have a deep rotation, and they won’t have to scramble to replace Fried. Carlos Rodón is already scheduled to come off the injured list on Tuesday, and he will step into Fried’s rotation spot. Rodón will join Gerrit Cole, who has been healthy since his return from Tommy John surgery, and Cam Schlittler, who has been effective in his starts.

The team’s rotation depth chart is as follows:

• RHP Gerrit Cole
• LHP Max Fried (out with elbow bone bruise)
• RHP Cam Schlittler
• LHP Carlos Rodón (returning Tuesday from elbow inflammation)
• LHP Ryan Weathers
• RHP Will Warren
• RHP Clarke Schmidt (rehabbing from UCL surgery)
• RHP Luis Gil (out since April with shoulder inflammation)
• RHP Elmer Rodríguez
• RHP Brendan Beck

With Fried out, Warren will remain in the rotation, and Weathers will be favored to step into the postseason rotation to replace Fried. The Yankees have a good chance of getting to October, but they’ll need to pick up the slack without Fried.

The Bullpen Won’t Get a Boost

The Yankees had hoped to strengthen their middle relief by putting Warren and Weathers in the bullpen come postseason time. However, with Fried out, that plan is off the table now. Weathers will be earmarked for the postseason rotation, taking him out of play as a bullpen option.

The Yankees’ bullpen looks like this:

• Closer: RHP David Bednar
• Setup: LHP Brent Headrick
• Middle: RHP Fernando Cruz and LHP Tim Hill
• Multi-inning: RHP Paul Blackburn and LHP Ryan Yarbrough
• Low leverage: RHP Yerry De Los Santos and RHP Bradley Hanner

Without Fried, the Yankees will have to find another way to ease up on their late-inning guys. Manager Aaron Boone will have to rely on his current bullpen corps to get the job done.

The Offense Must Step Up

The Yankees’ offense has been struggling, and it’s not just because of Aaron Judge’s injury. Eight Yankees have at least 40 plate appearances in August, and only three have a league-average OPS. The team simply must score more runs to stay competitive.

The Yankees are in good shape to get to October, but they’ll need to pick up the slack without Fried. They’ll have to rely on their pitching to carry them, but it’s not going to be easy. The team has little margin for error each night, and without Fried, that margin gets even smaller.