Ryan McMahon, Max Fried get an IL ‘breather’ ahead of Yankees’ stretch run

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Key points

• "I've been fighting my mechanics a lot this year, " continued Fried, who owns a 2.81 ERA in 15 starts.
• The belief – for these two and the injured major bats (Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger) – is they will be fine for October.
• McMahon still took ground balls and swung Friday but remarked taking cuts was "getting tough" after hurting the left thumb on a slide in Baltimore on Wednesday.
• The most fun will come in the postseason, presuming the Yankees avoid a September nosedive.
• Placed on the IL on Monday, Fried addressed reporters for the first time since the official return of his elbow bone bruise.

See more of our coverage in your search results. Add The New York Post on Google. Ryan McMahon is bummed to miss the upcoming pocket of games. Max Fried felt elbow soreness that he called "not ideal."

Both can take solace that they believe they will be ready for the biggest games of the year.

For context, the Yankees absorbed one more blow Friday in McMahon. This person had hoped to avoid the injured list and could not, and acknowledged another blow in Fried could have been far worse.

In practice, the belief – for these two and the injured major bats (Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger) – is they will be fine for October.

"Not great news. Could have been worse, " remarked McMahon. This person learned that the thumb he believed was jammed instead had suffered a grade 2 sprain that forced him to the injured list before Friday's series opener in The Bronx against the Blue Jays.

McMahon still took ground balls and swung Friday but remarked taking cuts was "getting tough" after hurting the left thumb on a slide in Baltimore on Wednesday. If he must undergo surgery – a notion he remarked was not probable – the procedure can wait for the offseason. McMahon hoped that on the other side of an IL trip he believes will require the 10-day minimum, the swelling will be gone and he will be ready for the stretch run.

Even if this means the Yankees will be playing some combination of Amed Rosario (who began at third Friday), Max Schuemann (who was called up with the corresponding move) and José Caballero at the position against a couple of rivals.

"It sucks, " McMahon remarked concerning the timing. "I mean, we obtained Toronto coming in here. We obtained Boston. These are the fun games, man."

Meanwhile, the most fun will come in the postseason, presuming the Yankees avoid a September nosedive. The club's best hopes in October will come from the front of their rotation, and Fried is confident the club will have three healthy aces.

"We just decided that it was better to just take a little bit of a breather now, " Fried remarked, "so that the rest of the season hopefully goes accordingly."

At least right now, he and the club do not believe this breather will be long. Manager Aaron Boone reiterated that Fried could miss the minimum 15 days, and the lefty has continued throwing and is due to return to pitching off a mound Saturday. If the bullpen session goes well, Fried would throw a live batting practice early next week, Boone remarked, and could be back by the end of the month.

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Fried remarked he had not felt the recurrence of what he called "soreness" of his elbow until his Aug. After which he informed the team trainers, 13 start against the Mariners. His previous bout with the bone bruise cost him more than two months, but he remarked the May injury "was definitely more intense, more pain."

Fried blamed his own mechanics for the aggravation. According to the veteran, he has not discovered consistency in release and has not "given my arm a chance to follow through properly."

"I've been fighting my mechanics a lot this year, " continued Fried, who owns a 2.81 ERA in 15 starts. " using this time to really focus on that, get better with the timing and kind of isolate the problem."

He remarked surgery is not a concern or option for now or afterwards. He anticipates using the winter to fully reset his elbow.

"Once the offseason hits and I have the ability to rest and not throw and get that area to heal, it shouldn't be a problem, " remarked Fried, who with Gerrit Cole and Cam Schlittler could be the key to the Yankees ending their World Series drought. "But that's kind of the thing: You don't want it to get too bad to where it turns into a fracture."

So he and McMahon are taking a break they don't anticipate will be lengthy.

Taken together, the developments around ryan McMahon, Max Fried get an IL 'breather' ahead of Yankees' stretch point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.