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A little over 48 hours ago, Max Fried gave a lot of people in the Bronx a scare. The Yankees pitcher had to leave the game on Wednesday afternoon because he was experiencing elbow pain.
And of course, when it comes to pitchers with elbow pain, the dreaded words “Tommy John” are never far behind.
So Fried had an MRI yesterday, and we got the news today. The result: he's heading to the injured list… but it looks like the worst has been avoided.
After reviewing the MRI results, the Yankees do not believe that Fried has torn ligaments in his elbow. The results will be analyzed by Neal ElAttrache to be certain, but there is cause for optimism.
It's believed that Fried has only suffered a bone bruise.
Max Fried is heading to the injured list, but the news is relatively positive all things considered: An MRI revealed a bone bruise in his left elbow, per the team. Dr. Neal ElAttrache will review the imaging, but if there is no ligament damage, the Yankees will avoid the worst-case scenario.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 15, 2026
At this point, it's unclear how long Fried will be sidelined. He'll miss at least 15 days, but the club announced that Fried will undergo further testing in a few weeks to establish a clearer timeline.
Could he miss a month? More than a month? These are all possible scenarios that will depend on how his injury progresses.
The Yankees can take comfort in the fact that while the loss of Fried is significant, the team has resources. Carlos Rodon is back to support Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers… and Gerrit Cole is on his way, too.
Fried's injury doesn't change anything regarding Cole's rehab, by the way: he's expected to make two more starts in the minors, including tomorrow's. He could therefore rejoin the Yankees' rotation in about ten days.
The Yankees will not accelerate Gerrit Cole's rehab timetable, Aaron Boone said. Likely two more rehab starts, including tomorrow.
— Bryan Hoch
(@BryanHoch) May 15, 2026
In the meantime, expect to see young Elmer Rodriguez called up to fill the fifth starter spot until Cole returns. And while seeing Fried on the sidelines is obviously bad news, the team seems to have avoided the worst-case scenario.
Let's see how all this plays out over the next few weeks.
- Injury update on the Blue Jays.
More Blue Jays notes:
• Addison Barger “doing better” per John Schneider. Hope is he's hitting and throwing again by next week and that he can be “pretty quick” after that.
• Max Scherzer is back to throwing and feeling better•
Yimi Garcia throwing a bullpen Tuesday— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 15, 2026
- Blake Snell was scheduled to pitch tonight, but he won't be there. Is he injured?
The Dodgers have scratched Blake Snell from his start tonight, per @katiejwoo pic.twitter.com/3fEi2YlExd
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 15, 2026
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