The New York Yankees were without Max Fried for the past few games as he dealt with a blister. Instead, the Yankees had to go with other players such as Ian Hamilton and Will Warren to fill his role, but that may change coming up, according to Yankees beat reporter Gary Phillips.
“Aaron Boone said Max Fried's bullpen went well. He's lined up for Wednesday,” Phillips wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Fried said that he was feeling better days ago, but also didn't want to rush back because he's had blisters before and knows it's not good to come back too soon.
“It’s something that I’ve dealt with my whole career,” Fried said via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “If you speed it up, there’s a chance that it comes back quicker. But if you handle it right, normally, you can just go on without many issues.”
Rookie Will Warren started for the Yankees in their previous game, and Marcus Stroman started in their last series game against the Atlanta Braves. Carlos Rodon will start in their game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Fried has been big for the Yankees in his first season with the team, as he has an 11–3 record with a 2.43 ERA across 122 innings pitched. To go even deeper, he has a 3.02 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, and 17 pitching run value. When Fried is on the field, he just makes the Yankees better.
It's good that he'll be returning soon, as the Yankees try to close the gap between them and the Blue Jays, who have a 3.0 game lead for the top spot in the division.
The Yankees have had a solid season this year, and they could take things to another gear in the second half. They've been getting big contributions from several players, and they'll have to keep that going if they want a chance at the top spot.
