When a blister on his left index finger brought Max Fried's night to an end after five innings of work Monday, Braves manager Brian Snitker had a feeling he might have to go without the young left-hander for at least a few days.
On Tuesday, Snitker's hunch was confirmed as the Braves placed Fried on the 10-day injured list, keeping him off the mound for at least his next scheduled turn in the rotation.
“Talking it over, he was going to miss a start,” Snitker said before the Braves continued their three-game series against the Brewers at Miller Park. “He went a long time without it being an issue, but the fact is it's pretty evident there, and we don't want it to be something that lingers.
“We'll back him off, get him good and hopefully this will be the end of it.”
Fried had struck out five over five scoreless innings when he, Snitker and the team's training staff made the decision to pull him from the game.
“I finally felt like myself,” said Fried, who allowed five runs on a season-high 11 hits in his last appearance July 6 and had a 5.77 ERA in nine starts since throwing six shutout innings against Milwaukee on May 17. “Executing pitches and let the defense work behind me. Definitely was feeling like I was hitting my groove, so it was a little frustrating.”
Instead of trying to pitch through the injury, though, Fried took himself out.
“He did the smart thing,” Snitker said. “If he had tried to keep pitching and it tore open, he’d be out for awhile. The treatment they've been doing had been working so we'll just try and stay ahead of it and hopefully it won't be a problem (in the future).
A blister landed Fried on the injured list last season, too. Since then, he's been undergoing a number of treatments including laser therapy to keep the issue in check. For the most part, those treatments had worked, but Snitker thinks the hot, humid conditions Monday night may have been a factor this time around.
The move opened a spot on the active roster for Tuesday starter Bryse Wilson, who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game. The Braves will need to fill another spot in the rotation when Fried’s turn comes up Saturday against the Nationals, but off-days Monday and Thursday around a two-game inter-league set against the Royals should help keep the rest of the Braves’ rotation on schedule.
