Yankees activating Fried from IL ahead of schedule to pitch Wednesday in twinbill against Pirates

NEW YORK (AP) — Max Fried will come off the injured list ahead of schedule Wednesday to pitch for the New York Yankees in the second game of their day-night doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The ace left-hander has been sidelined since May 14 because of a left elbow bone bruise and had been lined up to make a second minor league rehab start Wednesday. But when the Yankees announced their starting pitching plans Tuesday night for Wednesday's twinbill, they listed Gerrit Cole in the opener and Fried in Game 2.

Fried, a three-time All-Star, is 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 10 starts for New York this season. He tossed three innings last Friday in a rehab outing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Worcester, allowing two runs and five hits with three strikeouts and no walks. He threw 52 pitches, 32 for strikes.

The next day, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Fried would make at least one more rehab start in the minors before rejoining the big league rotation.

“He looked really good. I watched his whole outing,” Boone said Saturday. “He felt really good. So 52 pitches, so another one in five days. We’ll up that and we’ll see what we’re at from there.”

But the Yankees' plans changed when Tuesday night's scheduled game against the Pirates was postponed in the afternoon because of a rainy forecast. It will be made up Wednesday as part of New York’s second doubleheader in a four-day span.

The regularly scheduled game begins at 1:05 p.m. and the makeup at 7:05 p.m.

Will Warren had been slated to start Tuesday night against fellow right-hander Bubba Chandler and the Pirates. The Yankees are off Thursday, then begin a series at Philadelphia on Friday night.

New York split a day-night doubleheader Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers after a rainout Saturday night.

Chandler will pitch the nightcap Wednesday after Mitch Keller starts Game 1 for Pittsburgh. The Pirates are also off Thursday before a home series against the Chicago Cubs.

The 32-year-old Fried went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA over 32 starts in 2025, his first season with the Yankees after leaving Atlanta as a free agent to sign a $218 million, eight-year contract with New York in December 2024.

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