Will the Yankees ever get their four aces in the same rotation?
It might not happen this year after being all set up to finally occur this week.
With Carlos Rodon close to coming off the injured list, fellow left-hander Max Fried is back on the IL less than a month after returning from a two-month absence.
Fried’s issue is the same one that sidelined him from May 14 to July 17:
Left elbow bone bruise.
Fried joins four Yankees stars on the IL: right fielder Aaron Judge (stress fracture in first right rib), left fielder Cody Bellinger (left hamstring strain), designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (right calf strain) and Rodon.
There was no immediate update from the Yankees, who had Monday off, on if Fried has a chance to return this season or if this could lead to a surgery. That come come before Tuesday night’s game in Baltimore, or later if Fried opts for an outside-the-organization opinion.
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In Fried’s last outing, he allowed one run over five innings in a loss to the Mariners last Thursday at Yankee Stadium. He’s had only one bad outing since coming off the IL, going 0-1 with a 1.82 ERA in five starts with five runs allowed and 29 strikeouts across 24.2 innings.
For the season, Fried is 4-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 15 starts. In 2025, the first season in Fried’s eight-year, $218-million, contract, he led the AL in wins going 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 32 starts, but his last outing was a three-inning, seven-run disaster in Game 2 Division Series loss to the Blue Jays, who ousted the Yankees in four games.
Fried’s rotation spot likely will be filled by Rodon, who has been on the IL since July 3 with left elbow inflammation. The three-time All-Star is lined up to start Tuesday on regular rest after pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings in a 58-pitch rehab start last Thursday with Double-A Somerset. He began a rehab assignment on Aug. 8, a 2.2-inning, three-run outing with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Fried’s absence also prevents the Yankees from having to decide whether left-hander Ryan Weathers or righty Will Warren stays in a rotation that includes two ace right-handers, 2026 All-Star Cam Schlittler and 2023 AL Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole.
The Yankees were minus two aces at the start of the season with Cole finishing up his rehab from March 2025 Tommy John surgery and Rodon recovering from offseason elbow surgery. By the time Cole and Rodon returned, Fried was sidelined. After making 10 starts, Rodon was back on the IL.
Despite all the injuries, Yankees starters have an MLB-best 3.38 ERA.
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