The Yankees made it almost a month into the season without any real injury concerns. They have spent the three weeks since making up for that.
Max Fried became the latest and most important piece to enter an MRI tube Thursday, with the Yankees’ hopes and dreams potentially riding on the result of it.
Fried left Wednesday’s start in Baltimore after just three innings due to left elbow posterior soreness.
While the left-hander insisted he was “not too worried about a super long-term thing,” Thursday’s imaging and examination by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad would have the final say on that.
Even if the tests rule out the worst, it would be somewhat surprising if Fried was able to make his next start Tuesday in The Bronx against the Blue Jays, meaning the Yankees would likely need a spot starter for at least a turn or two until Gerrit Cole is ready to come off the injured list, likely by the end of this month.
With some strong rotation depth, the Yankees are in a position to withstand a short-term Fried absence.
The top candidates to replace him, should he need a stint on the injured list, would be Elmer Rodríguez and Brendan Beck.
Rodríguez, who made two spot starts after Luis Gil (now on the IL at Triple-A with shoulder inflammation) was optioned and before Carlos Rodón returned, is scheduled to start Saturday for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Beck started there Wednesday, meaning Tuesday would be his regular day to pitch if needed.
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Both Rodríguez and Beck would only be eligible to be recalled if they are replacing an injured player, since they were both optioned within the last 15 days.
Fried, meanwhile, became the latest Yankees injury worry after Giancarlo Stanton, Jasson Domínguez and José Caballero all landed on the IL within the last three weeks.
Caballero’s injury was the most recent, suffering a fracture in his right middle finger Sunday, although he also is expected to be the first to return from the IL — as soon as his 10 days are up, if it is up to him.
