BREAKING: Max Fried to IL with forearm strain
The Atlanta Braves have placed ace Max Fried on the Injured List with a left forearm strain, the team announced:
The move to IL Fried, which is backdated to last Saturday, answers speculation that had been swirling about Fried's status. Snitker, postgame on Sunday, has refused to commit to Fried starting either Wednesday or Friday's games and the Braves officially listed "TBD" for the Red Sox series finale's starter on Wednesday.
Fried's IL stint is not expected to be a short one - strained forearms are often warning signs of an UCL injury - Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that Fried's imaging came back clean, but that he'll be out for a while.
Fried, who spent multiple weeks on the IL with a hamstring strain suffered on Opening Day, had been phenomenal since he got back from the IL: In his first three games back, Fried put up a 2-0 record and a 0.00 ERA across 16.2 innings, allowing ten hits and four walks while striking out sixteen. He stumbled late in his most recent outing against the Orioles, going six innings with eight hits, seven runs (five earned) and two walks to seven strikeouts.
The injury to Fried is another blow to Atlanta's starting rotation depth, which lost Kyle Wright to "shoulder inflammation" that will lead to an indefinite stint on the injured list - it's the same shoulder that bothered him enough in the winter to require a cortisone injection in January and delayed the start to his spring training.
There's now multiple questions about the Braves rotation options - Dylan Dodd was called up for a spot start against the Marlins, where he gave up eight hits and three runs in six innings, with three walks and just a single strikeout in the contest. Has he improved to the point where he can get extended run in the rotation?
Jared Shuster is another option: He's made two starts in Atlanta this year, with an 8.63 ERA in outings against the Nationals and Padres. He's currently toiling away in AAA Gwinnett, with a 2.37 ERA in four starts.
A third option is Michael Soroka, although it feels unlikely. The 2019 All-Star has spent the season in AAA Gwinnett as he attempts to return from three surgeries on his twice-ruptured Achilles, the first occurring in the shortened 2020 season and the 2nd, a re-rupture, occurring during his rehab.
On the season, Soroka is 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA in five starts for Gwinnett, with five walks to nineteen strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched. He started the year off well, putting up three starts with a total of two runs across 13.2 innings, but struggled in his last two outings with ten earned runs in his last seven combined innings. He has only surpassed 80 pitches one time, so it appears that he still needs more time to build up before being a starting option in Atlanta.
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