Yankees activate Max Fried from IL ahead of schedule to pitch in twinbill against Pirates

NEW YORK — Max Fried will come off the injured list ahead of schedule 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. But when the Yankees announced their starting pitching plans for the 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 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. “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 their scheduled game against the Pirates was postponed in the afternoon because of a rainy forecast. It will be made up 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 against fellow right-hander Bubba Chandler and the Pirates. The Yankees are then off before beginning a series at Philadelphia.

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

Chandler will pitch the nightcap after Mitch Keller starts Game 1 for Pittsburgh. The Pirates then are off 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 an eight-year, $218 million contract with New York in December 2024.