BALTIMORE — Remember the good old days, as in before Wednesday, when there were questions about how the Yankees would open a rotation spot for Gerrit Cole?
They are in danger of no longer having that problem, after a bigger one fell into their lap Wednesday afternoon, when Max Fried walked off the mound after the third inning and never returned.
The left-hander departed with left elbow posterior soreness, the Yankees said, and will undergo imaging and be examined by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad on Thursday back in New York.
“I guess you never know, but I’m definitely planning on this thing being a sooner rather than later [situation],” Fried said after a 7-0 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards.
“Where everything is in the initial testing, I’m not too worried about a super long-term thing. If I can, I’d love to be able to make my next start, but we’ll see.”
That may just be wishful thinking, even if Thursday’s tests do not reveal any significant damage.
Fried described the sensation as a hyperextension or banging of the back of his elbow/triceps area. It was something he had felt in “numerous starts” this season and in the days after his previous start, but other times it went away instead of lingering like Wednesday, when he was having trouble getting loose.
“This one, it was probably just one too many times and just a little irritated and a little pissed off,” Fried said.
As Fried heads for testing, the Yankees will be holding their breath for the $218 million pitcher who has capably filled the role of ace in Cole’s absence dating back to last season. Cole could be a rehab start or two away from returning from the injured list as he finishes his comeback from Tommy John surgery, but the Yankees planned to have him and Fried together at the top of that rotation instead of tagging in for each other.
Fried, who placed fourth in AL Cy Young voting last season, entered Wednesday with a 2.91 ERA on the season but then gave up three runs over three innings and 61 pitches. He had not been sharp in his last start, either, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks against the Brewers.
The Yankees noticed Fried’s stuff was down early Wednesday — essentially, it was taking him multiple batters in an inning to get his velocity up to where he usually sits — and then Boone talked with him after the third inning, at which point they decided to pull the plug.
“In talking to him, not that concerned, and where it is,” Boone said. “But we’ll do all the testing and whatnot [Thursday].”
Left unsaid is that soreness in the back of Fried’s elbow may be better than on the inside of it, which is closer to the ulnar collateral ligament (Fried underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014).
“It’s always a little concern anytime any of your pitchers have any issue with the elbow or shoulder,” Aaron Judge said. “I’m hoping to hear some good news. Max is a tough kid. He’s meant a lot to this organization since he came over here. That’s why we went after him and signed him.
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“I think that’s one thing that’s helped us this year though is our depth, we got a lot of depth around here. So if something happens, guys will step up and fill that hole.”
Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers have all pitched well to start the year and Carlos Rodón just returned from the injured list Sunday. If Fried is forced to go on the IL, the Yankees may need a spot starter next Tuesday, which would not line up with Cole (who is scheduled to make his next rehab start Saturday).
“Just wasn’t sharp and it was hard to keep bouncing back,” Fried said. “Definitely wasn’t helping the team. I could have kept pitching, but at that point, it was like, ‘Hey, let’s make sure we can calm this thing down and get ahead of it.’”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
