Max Fried to be shut down, Braves hoping he can return soon

Brian Snitker met with the media ahead of Sunday’s series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals and provided an update on left-hander Max Fried, who was placed on the injured list Sunday morning. Per 92.9 The Game’s Grant McAuley, Fried initially felt some minor discomfort prior to pitching in the All-Star Game. He underwent an MRI on Friday which came back clean and showed no structural issues.

For now, he will be shut down and reevaluated in the future. The Braves are hoping that this won’t be a long stint on the injured list but nothing is certain at this juncture.

Losing Fried is obviously a huge blow to the Braves, who were already dealing with the loss of Spencer Strider for the season. It also puts more pressure on the team’s rotation depth which has struggled at times throughout the 2024 season. Sunday’s starter, Spencer Schwellenbach has pitched well of late but has already eclipsed his career high in innings in his first season in the majors. AJ Smith-Shawver is slated to start for Gwinnett Sunday as he continues to work his way back from an oblique injury. Both pitchers will become much more important with Fried out.

Fried missed about three months in 2023 with a forearm strain. He returned for the stretch run but then went back on the injured list with a blister and wasn’t 100 percent heading into the postseason.

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, it will be interesting to see if the Braves pursue a starter to help eat some innings over the final two months of the regular season.

Update - Here is video of Brian Snitker’s media session.