NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried took another step in his recovery from a bone bruise in his left elbow, throwing about 30 pitches in a two-inning simulated game Tuesday.
Fried was on the mound for about 20 minutes and used all his pitches while facing Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham, who are slated to be activated off the injured list Friday.
“It looked great, like really good,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees
faced Detroit. “Stuff was good. I thought he was really sharp.”
Fried recently started throwing bullpen sessions and will face hitters again before Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins.
The 32-year-old left-hander has been out since May 13, when he left a start in Baltimore after three innings when he velocity noticeably dropped and he threw only 34 of 61 pitches for strikes. He also had an MRI and CT scan that were reviewed by Los Angeles Dodgers team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
McMahon, who is recovering from a throat infection, faced Fried three times. He popped out and struck out in the first two at-bats before seeing three more pitches in the final at-bat when Fried’s session ended.
“All over the zone,” McMahon said. “He threw every pitched, landed the curveball and sweeper for strikes to me and the sinkers were nasty. Everything was good."
Grisham, who is recovering from a strained right hamstring, saw about 10 pitches from Fried and struck out in his first appearance while fouling off a pair of pitches.
Fried did not face Giancarlo Stanton, who is recovering from a strained right calf that has kept him out since April 24. Boone said on Monday Stanton was going to face Fried, but Tuesday said he misspoke.
Fried is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 10 starts after going 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA and making the All-Star team last season, his first with the Yankees. He left Atlanta as a free agent to sign a $218 million, eight-year contract with New York in December 2024.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. passed various concussion tests after the leaving Monday’s 7-3 loss following a violent collision with right fielder Jasson Domínguez.
With the Yankees down 7-0 in the fourth inning, Hao-Yu Lee hit a high pop to shallow right field. Chisholm ran back and attempted to make the catch, but Domínguez charged in and caught the ball as his glove struck the second baseman in the face.
“Getting hit like that I felt like I got punched in the face, but other than that, I was pretty good,” Chisholm said.
Chisholm was not in the lineup Tuesday and José Caballero made his third start at second base.
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