The Braves added another starting pitcher to the injured list Tuesday, placing left-hander Max Fried on the 10-day IL with a blister on his left index finger. The move is retroactive to June 19.
“He noticed (the blister) during the last hitter of his last start,” manager Brian Snitker said. “We were treating it and waiting as long as we could to see if it’d heal. I think it’s something that, if he had to pitch, he probably could. I think being proactive and being in front of it, we can hopefully just skip a start, and hopefully he’ll be ready when he’s eligible to come off.”
Right-hander Kyle Wright was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett and will start in Fried’s place Wednesday in the series finale against the Mets.
It’s another blow for the Braves and Fried, who lands on the IL for the second time this season. The 27-year-old struggled with blisters earlier in his career, in the minors and majors, but he hadn’t had a documented blister-related issue since July 2019.
“This is the first time in a while (he’s had a blister), in a couple years,” Snitker said. “I think they’d kind of addressed it, and he has things he does, and all that. ... I was talking to him, it has been a while since we’ve had to deal with this because he’s so conscientious of what he does in between starts. I don’t know if it was a hot, humid night or something like that, sweating more or something. But it’s something he’s learning to deal with, prepare for and against.”
After a brutal first three starts, Fried was placed on the IL in April with a hamstring injury. He’s resembled his past form since his return: The southpaw owned a 2.51 ERA with 41 strikeouts against 15 walks across his past eight starts. Opponents were hitting .206 against him over that stretch.
Fried is the Braves’ fourth starter on the IL, joining Mike Soroka (Achilles), Huascar Ynoa (broken hand) and Tucker Davidson (forearm). While it’s uncertain if Soroka will pitch this season, Ynoa is expected to return later this summer. Davidson was placed on the IL last week and hasn’t resumed throwing.
The Braves will hope Fried misses only one start, meaning he would return sometime during the next homestand. Wright will fill his spot Wednesday. It will be Wright’s second start this season and first since April 16, when he allowed two runs on three hits in 4-1/3 innings at Wrigley Field.
Wright, 25, has a 3.76 ERA in eight starts with Triple-A Gwinnett. He had a 5.21 ERA across eight major-league starts during the shortened 2020 season.
“I’ve tried to continue staying consistent,” Wright said of his work at Triple-A. “I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job limiting damage and staying out of those big innings. That’s been a focus for me, do whatever I can to limit the opponents’ opportunities. But I’ve been feeling good. ... I feel like I’ve learned a lot, and I’m ready to get back up here.”
The Braves also have not decided on a starter for Thursday’s series opener in Cincinnati. That will need to be a spot start.
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