The Braves placed left-hander Max Fried on the 15-day injured list Sunday, backdated to July 18, with left forearm neuritis. He and the team hope this won’t be a lengthy absence.
Fried started feeling something when he was doing arm circles getting loose before the All-Star game last week (”I didn’t think much of it,” he said). Fried pitched one inning in the exhibition. He still felt the “slight burning” when he was working out Thursday and informed the team. He underwent an MRI Friday that revealed no structural issues, just that he’d “irritated a sensory nerve,” Fried said.
“We’re just going to let it calm down and hopefully I’ll be back soon,” Fried said, speaking with reporters after Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Cardinals.
Before the game, Snitker described the MRI result as the “best-case scenario.” He echoed Fried’s hope that this won’t require a lengthy IL stint.
Asked about a potential timetable for his recovery and return, Fried said: “Giving ourselves the grace of everyone’s bodies heal differently, not going to put a firm timeline on it, but hopefully, everything that’s been conveyed to me is it’s definitely on the shorter end. Not planning on it being a lengthy absence.” Fried added he was relieved he hadn’t suffered a more serious injury.
“Just a freak accident,” he said. “Just going to let it calm down for a little bit and it should be good to go with no issues.”
Fried missed almost three months last season with a forearm strain, but he stressed that this feeling was “very different” from what he felt then. As brilliant as Fried has been, injuries have been an unfortunate part of his career’s story. He’s exceeded 180 innings in a season only once. This year, he’s logged 108 frames, posting a 3.08 ERA and earning his second All-Star nod. He’s been an instrumental part of the team’s success as the rotation has done much of the heavy lifting with the Braves’ offensive issues.
Outsiders have pondered why Fried pitched in the All-Star game if he felt even a minor burning sensation in his forearm. He and Snitker noted players feel small forms of discomfort often and they aren’t typically reason for alarm. While Fried said not pitching in the game “was definitely something that came across my mind,” he didn’t feel, in the moment, that it was anything serious enough to prevent him from taking the mound.
“In this game, you feel things all the time,” Fried said. “Normally, it goes away. It didn’t feel like I was in any jeopardy of hurting myself. I was able to get through (the All-Star outing).” He said pitching in the game had no impact on the injury. He expected he’d feel fine after a couple days of recovering, but it lingered longer than he anticipated.
“I’m glad (Fried) said something,” Snitker said. “He’s been around long enough now that they’re not going to leave any stone unturned. But it was probably the best news out of the MRI that we could get.”
The Braves recalled left-hander Dylan Dodd in Fried’s place. Dodd appeared in seven games last season and provides length as a reliever (or spot starter) if needed.
Fried’s absence, however long, only increases the Braves’ need for another starter before the trade deadline in two weeks. The team will need to monitor Reynaldo Lopez’s innings, given he’d spent the past few seasons as a reliever, and it won’t want to overwork Chris Sale, who’s been extremely reliable coming off several injury-plagued campaigns. The team’s depth has been greatly tested in 2024, both with positions players and pitching.
Fried, who turns 31 in January, is among the most accomplished starters in franchise history, highlighted by his championship-clinching start in Game 6 of the 2021 World Series and finishing Cy Young runner-up in 2022. He is a free agent this winter.
“Any time I can’t take the ball and pitch, it’s extremely frustrating,” Fried said. “I love being able to go out there every fifth day and pitch and compete. Not being able to go and do that, and take the field with my teammates, it’s tough. So really just happy it’s nothing serious but at the same time, I’m disappointed because I want to be out there and take the ball.”
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