Max Fried returned on Wednesday looking like a good version of Max Fried. That’s a nice development for the New York Yankees.
The All-Star left-hander made his comeback from the injured list after two months out due to a bone bruise in his pitching elbow. Despite a limited pitch count, he mowed down the Pittsburgh Pirates across five scoreless innings on Wednesday.
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His final line: 5 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts and 57 pitches.
Fried, who finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting last year, hadn’t pitched since May 15. He made only one rehab start, allowing two runs in three innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and then skipped a second scheduled outing in favor of returning to the Yankees on Wednesday.
Fried’s stuff certainly seemed to be back, as his four-seam fastball averaged 96.2 mph, above his usual marks in both his 2026 starts before his injury (94.7 mph) and the 2025 season (95.9), per Baseball Savant. His whiff rate of 37% is tied for the 10th-best mark in a game for the Yankees this season (min. 50 pitches).
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Fried started the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday, with Yankees ace Gerrit Cole starting the first and striking out 11 across 7 innings, with 4 hits and 3 runs allowed.
This is the first time the Yankees have ever had both of their high-priced pitchers in the rotation at the same time. New York signed Fried to a $218 million contract two winters ago, not knowing that he would have to be the staff ace after Cole underwent Tommy John surgery before the 2025 season. Cole made his return from his rehab on May 22, the week after Fried hit the IL.
With both pitchers back in the rotation alongside AL Cy Young frontrunner Cam Schlittler, the Yankees suddenly have one of the most formidable pitching trios in baseball as they try to catch the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
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