The early months of the 2025 season saw former Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried deliver one of his best runs of success on the mound.
Through 11 starts, he had a 1.29 ERA. He was giving his new team, the New York Yankees, plenty of innings, nearly seven per start. Giving him his third All-Star appearance was a no-brainer, and he was a frontrunner for the American League Cy Young Award.
Over the month of June, he came down to earth a bit. By that, we mean he was allowing a couple runs per start instead of one or fewer. His ERA was still 1.91 on July. Then, the wheels flew off the tracks.
He hasn’t allowed fewer than three earned runs since. He hasn’t given up fewer than four runs in a start where he pitched more than five innings, and he only made it through five in one of those starts in which he allowed just three runs.
On Saturday, he allowed a season-high seven earned runs when the Yankees took on the St. Louis Cardinals. In his last eight starts, his ERA is 6.80, and his season ERA is now up to 3.26. That’s a tick higher than last season (3.25) over 29 starts.
All hopes of taking home a Cy Young have gone out the window. At this point, the only hope he and the Yankees have is if he can catch his breath and get back to form. If they’re lucky, it’s just a bad stretch. July and August weren’t so great for Fried either.
Granted, last season, Fried was coming off missing time due to forearm neuritis. This year, his injury was a blister. Outside of the All-Star Break, he hasn’t gotten more than his usual rest time between starts.
Maybe it’s a genuine rough patch, and he just needs to make the proper adjustments in order to figure it out. Time will tell.
Fried signed with the Yankees (eight years, $218 million) over the offseason after eight seasons with the Braves. In Atlanta, he made two All-Star Games, won two Gold Gloves and was part of the 2021 World Series-winning team. He notably pitched the decisive Game 6.
The Braves haven’t exactly found the pitcher who will take his place, but based on how things are going, he would simply be joining the woes already plaguing the team over the last few months.
