Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried is out for the time being with a forearm strain. A recent diagnosis suggested he could be out until August, but one team insider thinks he’ll be back before then.
It’s been awhile since the Atlanta Braves received some positive injury news, especially in regards to their starting rotation.
Max Fried and Kyle Wright, two of their best pitchers last season, were expected to be out until the end of July or later. Thankfully, it would seem Fried is progressing a little quicker than that, as insider David O’Brien of The Athletic said Fried is expected to resume throwing soon with an All-Star Break return in mind.
Wright’s return is more of a mystery at this point, but he was expected to miss more time anyway. August is a conservative estimate, and Atlanta fans should brace for that.
MLB Rumors: When will Braves ace Max Fried return?
Atlanta’s rotation has been messy the last few times through, though that’s not directly correlated to their performance. Braves fans want nothing to do with bullpen games moving forward, and Jared Shuster might be the answer.
Atlanta called up Shuster last week, and since he has thrown twice and recorded a win. Shuster credited his time in the minor leagues for his improvement, as he’s learned to trust his catcher and throw his secondary pitches more often. As is common for top prospects in their first big-league outings, Shuster thought he could blow away the competition with pure velocity. Unsurprisingly, that wasn’t the case, which landed the young prospect back in the minors for a tune-up.
Eventually, Michael Soroka could be ready for another big-league opportunity, but the Braves have taken is slow with the former All-Star, who is coming off severe injuries.
Is Atlanta can merely patch together a solid four-man rotation until Fried comes back, they could be in prime position for a postseason run.