Braves News: Max Fried scheduled for rehab start on Sunday

The Atlanta Braves finally have a soft timetable for when they can expect their ace to return. The team announced today that Max Fried will begin his rehab assignment on Sunday with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.

Unfortunately, the 2023 season has been injury plagued for Fried thus far. After he exited his opening day start with hamstring tightness, Fried would make his way back in mid-April only to make five more starts before suffering the left forearm strain.

When the injury news originally with that diagnosis that was obviously a scary cloud hanging over Braves fans. When you hear those words of forearm strain your mind generally expects the worst. Luckily, the original thought of shutting Fried down and building his arm back up seems to be an effective plan.

In his five starts this season Fried owns a 2-1 record, 2.08 ERA, and 3.06 FIP. It hasn’t been the season he wanted health wise, but if Fried can return after the All-Star break and lead the rotation to a sixth consecutive NL East title, I think he wouldn’t be extremely upset.

The Braves have cushioned themselves a good lead in the division without their workhorse leading the rotation, but that doesn’t mean the team can’t improve. Which is a absurdly scary thought for the rest of baseball, considering just how dominant the Braves have been in the first half.

Adding the 2022 Cy Young runner-up makes any team stronger, but adding that to the team with the best record in baseball just feels very similar to Thanos getting his hands on the last infinity stone. We’re not quite there yet, but this news is certainly a step in the right direction.

Let’s hope Fried comes out of Sunday’s game feeling well and healthy and we make progress for a strong second half push, led by the man who’s been anchoring the Braves rotation for the last several years.