Max Fried still hopes that he won’t miss any time with the blister on his left index finger that he suffered in Saturday’s start against the Cubs.
Since the left-hander isn’t pitching in Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta — a decision that was made before Fried suffered the injury in Saturday’s loss at the Stadium — Fried and the Yankees get the benefit of the break, with their next game Friday against the Braves.
Fried said after Sunday’s 4-1 loss to Chicago that it remained too early to tell how the blister would recover, but after a day, it was “definitely going in the right direction.”
Still, manager Aaron Boone said they could push his start back depending on how it recovers over the next few days.
And even prior to Fried not being able to pitch in the Midsummer Classic, the former Brave reached out to Detroit’s Tarik Skubal about potentially starting the game instead of Fried, since he’s heard Skubal had expressed a desire to get the start and is in the midst of another potential Cy Young season.
“I feel like, from my end, if he wanted to start the game he deserved to do it,’’ Fried said of why he called Skubal. “He has my full support.”
After putting up a 1.92 ERA in his first 17 starts as a Yankee, he’s allowed 10 earned runs in 14 innings over his past three starts (6.43 ERA).
While the Yankees hope Fried is back without needing an IL stint — something he needed due to blister issues in four seasons during his time with the Braves — they’ll undoubtedly need more starting pitching in the second half, which is where Luis Gil figures to come in.
The right-hander, sidelined since the spring with a lat strain, impressed in his first minor league rehab start on Sunday with Double-A Somerset.
Gil, the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year, threw his expected 50 pitches and was sharp, allowing just two hits — one homer — and a walk while striking out six in 3 ¹/₃ innings.
Prior to the outing, Boone said Gil would need “a few” rehab starts before he’s considered an option to rejoin the rotation in The Bronx.
Trent Grisham didn’t play Sunday and appeared in just two of the final six games prior to the break while dealing with left hamstring tightness that’s bothered him the past two weeks.
Boone said the injury limited Grisham in center field and on the basepaths, which led to his diminished playing time over the past week. The manager hopes getting five straight days off before the Yankees resume play in Atlanta on Friday will help Grisham return to full health.
With Grisham out, Cody Bellinger started in center and had his career-high 17-game hitting streak snapped, as he went hitless in three at-bats.
Gerrit Cole, out for the season following Tommy John surgery, said Sunday he’s begun work with a plyo ball and is “about a month away” from beginning to play catch.
— Additional reporting by Joel Sherman
