The Braves are looking at the bright side of left-hander Max Fried’s latest injury. Manager Brian Snitker said Fried is going to miss “a little time” while recuperating from an inflammation of nerves (neuritis) in his left forearm. Fried said an MRI revealed that “everything structurally looks great” with his arm.
Those are relatively good pieces of news buried under Sunday’s announcement that the Braves placed Fried on the 15-day injured list. But consider Fried’s injury as part of the wider view and it’s a much bigger deal for the Braves.
This is the second straight year that Fried hurt his left forearm. He missed nearly three months with a left forearm strain last season. Fried said this injury doesn’t feel like that one. Still, the forearm is giving him trouble again. Can the Braves count on Fried to be healthy and effective for October?
That’s one of many questions the Braves face about the long-term outlook for their starting pitchers.
Spencer Strider is out for the season. Charlie Morton is testing the limits of what a 40-year-old can do. Chris Sale already has pitched more innings than he has since 2019. Converted reliever Reynaldo López is up 95 2/3 innings. Add uncertainty about Fried’s injury to that list of concerns.
To follow Fried’s lead and look on the bright side, it’s a good thing that his injury happened before the July 30 trade deadline. A month ago, I advocated for Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos to prioritize pitchers over outfielders in the trade market. That’s no longer a close call after Fried’s injury. And now it’s possible that infield will move higher than outfield on the team’s list of needs.
Second baseman Ozzie Albies is headed to the IL after he hurt his left wrist on Sunday. Albies suffered the injury while attempting to apply a tag on Cardinals baserunner Michael Siani. Albies hasn’t hit at his usual level, but his track record suggests that he will eventually. The Braves are better positioned to overcome injuries to outfielders than infielders.
“Depth will cover (injuries) to an extent but, after a while, it’s hard,” Snitker said after the Braves lost 6-2 to the Cardinals, who won two of three games in the series.
Anthopoulos could make it a bit easier by acquiring a quality starting pitcher. The rotation has been the best thing about the Braves this season. Fried, Sale and López have carried the Braves as the offense floundered. Morton has been effective more times than not.
But it’s a big risk for the Braves to rely on all four to make it to October healthy and pitching well. They could use an outfielder and perhaps an infielder after Albies’ injury. But they need outside pitching help because elite run prevention is their path to the World Series.
Some potential trade candidates have yet to change teams. The White Sox still are weighing offers for left-hander Garrett Crochet and right-hander Erick Fedde. The Tigers are likely to depart with Tarik Skubal. The price for Mets right-hander Luis Severino might be coming down after he posted a 4.54 ERA over his past six starts vs. his 3.12 ERA in the 13 starts prior.
The Braves will have plenty of competition for pitchers on the trade market. The list of contending teams seeking starters includes the Dodgers, Yankees and Orioles. Those organizations have much deeper farm systems than the Braves, according to the experts.
But Anthopoulos has noted that internal evaluations of prospects can differ from outside opinions. They also can vary significantly from team to team. Now is a good time for Anthopoulos to offer up a young Braves player in trade who can get a solid veteran starring pitcher in return.
The Braves aren’t going to catch the Phillies in the National League East but they are virtual locks to win one of three wild cards. Once in the playoffs, the Braves can copy the formula used by the 2023 Diamondbacks and 2022 Phillies. Those teams won the NL pennant despite low-output offenses.
This year’s Braves can pull off a similar feat if they can make it to October with at least three of their starters in good form. And there’s still hope that some of their slumping hitters will start producing at the expected level. Lately, there have been modest signs of an offensive resurgence for the Braves.
Before the All-Star break, they scored five or more runs in six straight games for the first time since April 14-20. They won two of three games at the Padres to enter the break while scoring six runs in both victories. The Braves slugged six home runs against the Cardinals over the weekend.
We’ll see if the Braves can keep it going with yet another position player going on the IL. It’s late enough in the season that what we see from their lineup may be all that we’ll get. The Braves need another dependable starting pitcher as they look to October.
That was true before Fried went on the IL. Now the matter is even more urgent.
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