8 Braves players who need to step up with Max Fried on the injured list
Atlanta Braves fans were hit with unexpected news on Tuesday morning. Max Fried has been shut down due to a left forearm strain and was placed on the 15-day IL, backdated to May 6th. The Braves also recalled Danny Young from Gwinnett as a corresponding move. There was no indication that anything was wrong with Fried after his last start as his velocity was the same it had been all year.
After Sunday’s win against Baltimore, however, Brian Snitker stated that he wasn’t sure if Max would start on Wednesday or Friday. He also added that they were “working through things” and wouldn’t commit to Fried going to the IL at that time. That was our first hint that something may be wrong with Fried. An MRI didn’t reveal any concern with Fried’s elbow or anything like that.
The Braves aren't saying anything specific regarding Fried. Just saying, "They're working through things." Dodd or Shuster could start Wed. if this is an IL move. Fried didn't indicate any physical ailments after his last start. But uncertainty about his next start is alarming. https://t.co/7z4Cj5mdCN
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) May 7, 2023
It’s hard to know how long Fried will be out of commission but we can safely assume he won’t be throwing for a couple of weeks and will need to build back up so optimistically; it could be a couple of months before he takes the mound for Atlanta again.
It would be one thing if Atlanta had to find a way to have a place holder for Max until he returns but they also have Kyle Wright on the IL as well. Those are two very important rotation spots that need coverage and is not a great place to be in. Here is who needs to step up with Fried on a shelf.
The replacements
There are options available to fill these spots such as Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster. However, they’re both young and learning to pitch at the MLB level. That’s not typically a recipe for success to send out your starter and hoping for the best. You want confidence that they will give you an opportunity to win each game.
Michael Soroka is still working his way back to the majors and has shown mixed results at Triple-A Gwinnett. He currenlty has a 5.23 ERA through five starts with the Stripers. While he’s proven in the past that he can handle pitching on the biggest stage, I imagine the team will want to be careful with rushing him back.
He's still shaking off rust at Triple A, and the #Braves were being careful not to bring Soroka up until they're reasonably sure he's ready to succeed at the MLB level.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 9, 2023
Most likely we will see Shuster take the mound for the Braves on Wednesday since Dodd was just optioned back to Triple-A after making a spot start for Atlanta. Dodd looked much better against the Marlins in that start and I’d expect him to get some chances to prove he’s ready to pitch at this level.
The Braves need Shuster and Dodd to step up and be the pitchers that they were in Spring Training. They earned a spot in the rotation for pitching so well this Spring so we know they have the capability. The likelihood of Atlanta finding a suitable pitching replacement on the trade market this soon is very low.
The rest of the rotation
The team will need Strider, Elder, and Morton to step up and pitch as well as they can to make up for the two rotation spots that will be given to whomever the front office thinks is most capable. Elder has already shown he’s turned a corner this season and has been one of the best pitchers for Atlanta.
Morton has improved in his last three starts with a 2.95 ERA, allowing fourteen hits with 8 walks and twenty strikeouts. We will need Morton to be the top tier starter that we know he can be so the team can have a chance to continue their impressive start.
The Braves currently hold the best record in the NL and have shown they can handle things without their ace for a couple of weeks but they’ll absolutely need to step up offensively to cover any decrease in output from the pitching side.
The offense
Of course, getting back Travis d’Arnaud and Orlando Arcia has been a nice boost for the offense as they were big parts of the success early on this season. This will help lengthen that offense and hopefully lead to more success with runners on the base paths and just putting the ball in play. The offense has really had a tough time with striking out and getting runners in from scoring position. They have the 7th most strikeouts in the league with 320 of them so far in 2023.
With runners in scoring position, the team is 14th in that category with a .768 OPS and .237 average. Those are the two areas they’ve got to improve upon if they want to make things easier on themselves while missing two important pieces of their rotation.
Although statistically, the Braves have one of the best averages in baseball when playing from behind at a .272 average when trailing. The opposite is true when they are ahead with just a .245 average. So it could be said they need to work on hitting while they have the lead more than anything.
This is going to be a tough stretch for the Atlanta Braves and they will need to work hard if they wish to maintain the lead they have in the NL East. These are the moments that show just how good a team is and this will give fans the chance to see what the identity of this team is.
Adversity is a big part of baseball and how you respond to that adversity can make or break you. I believe in this team and think they will be able to push on despite the set backs faced so far this season with injuries.