Yankees' Latest Max Fried Development is Great, But Can We Trust It?

The New York Yankees placed Max Fried on the 15-day injured list Monday night with a bruise in his left elbow, the same injury that kept him sidelined for over two months between mid-May and late July.

So, naturally, the immediate reaction was that Fried would be out for the remainder of the regular season and probably the playoffs.

However, Aaron Boone hinted otherwise.

While discussing Fried's injury on Tuesday, the Yankees manager seemed to indicate that the southpaw could end up returning sooner than most initially thought.

“He was close to being able to make his next start, but we’re just trying to be a little bit cautious here and manage this thing as we get down the stretch,” Boone said.

The question, of course, is whether or not we can actually trust Boone and the Yankees here, because, let's face it, they haven't exactly been accurate — or incredibly forthright — with injuries over the years.

That isn't to say that Boone is misleading anyone. That surely isn't the case. But how do we even know for sure the information Boone is providing is entirely dependable?

We've seen this plenty of times with New York. A player gets injured, misses a little bit of time and then that turns into the player being shelved for months.

Hopefully, that isn't the case with Fried, but it's happened so many times with the Yankees before that it's hard to not look at this situation with a side eye.

Regardless of how optimistic Boone or the Yanks are, it's an elbow injury, and it's the second time Fried has been knocked out with such an ailment this season.

It's not like this is a sprained ankle or even a blister (although the Chicago Cubs are currently finding out that the latter can be pretty tricky).

I want to believe Fried will be just fine and prepared for the postseason. We all do. A healthy Fried would give the Yankees the best starting rotation in baseball. Bar none. Imagine having to see Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole and Fried in a short series?

But until Fried is actually back on the mound and pitching like the frontline starter we know he is, I'll remain skeptical.