This isn't going great.
Yankees have a Max Fried problem in their pitching rotation originally appeared on The Sporting News
For so much of the season, Max Fried had been brilliant.
The New York Yankees signed Fried this offseason to help helm their rotation with Gerrit Cole, and once Cole sustained a season-ending elbow injury, this became fully Fried's show.
The star lefty, formerly of the Atlanta Braves, was up to the task. Almost every time out, he was in total control.
But lately, things have gotten rough for Fried.
In each of his last six starts, he's allowed at least four runs. In that span, he has a 7.20 ERA.
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On Saturday night in St. Louis, Fried allowed five runs through two innings. He actually settled in, made it through five innings and earned a victory on his record as the Yankees' bats took the game over.
It wasn't good, though. Fried struggled to get ahead in counts and left pitches over the heart of the plate for the Cardinals to hit, punctuated by a three-run home run for Masyn Winn.
Adding to the problems: Fried has dealt with blisters in the second half of the season. It's something he had issues with in Atlanta, and it's a bit unpredictable as far as knowing when they'll arise and how they'll affect his availability.
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Because the reality is this: Even if Fried is struggling, the Yankees need him. He's got experience and top-notch talent. They don't have enough depth in their pitching ranks to imagine a world where Fried isn't available for a long stretch.
They've already fallen down in the American League playoff race and are just clinging to a wild card spot at the moment. There's still time to move back up, but there's also time to collapse further.
Fried will be at the center of the Yankees' fortunes. And unless he turns it around, this won't be the end of the season anyone drew up when Fried was dominating games early this season in pinstripes.
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