Yankees' surprise Max Fried announcement could change entire Red Sox series

This coming weekend's Yankees-Red Sox series in the Bronx is a big one, given that both New York and Boston are still within striking distance of the American League East crown.

The Yankees were swept by their arch rival at Fenway Park at the end of June. With New York looking for revenge, it'll be blessed with an advantageous set of circumstances when it comes to Boston's pitching rotation: Sonny Gray and Payton Tolle — two of the Red Sox's best starters — are scheduled to pitch during this week's series against the Miami Marlins.

Boston will likely head into the four-game set at Yankee Stadium with Patrick Sandoval, Jake Bennett, and Ranger Suarez at its disposal. For the third or fourth game of the series, it'll probably be a "Brayan Bello game", meaning Bello will piggyback off of an opener.

On the Yankees' side of things, there's actually a surprise pitching development that should make the series all the juicier.

Max Fried might start a game for the Yankees this weekend against the Red Sox

Fried's on the 15-day injured list with a bone bruise in his throwing elbow, but he could return for one of the double-header games on Saturday, according to new intel from Greg Joyce of the New York Post.

Fried has progressed swimmingly since landing on the IL, which was a massively worrisome development initially. Yankees skipper Aaron Boone has since calmed fans by noting that this bone bruise is less serious than the one Fried suffered earlier in the season. The left-hander has resumed throwing live BP and has also spoken optimistically about the injury.

As of now, it looks like the Yankees would send AL Cy Young candidate Cam Schlittler to the mound on Friday night against Sandoval, with Will Warren taking on Suarez to end the series on Sunday. In between is the double-header on Saturday, one game of which will be Carlos Rodón's.

Could the other game belong to Fried? It's not official yet, but Joyce's reporting on Tuesday was nothing but positive for Yankees fans. Fried still needs to clear a few hurdles in between now and Saturday without any setbacks or pain, but the mere possibility of the left-hander taking the ball against the Red Sox gives New York a much better feeling looking ahead to a very important series.

Fried's never been afraid of the big moment, but an opportunity to pitch in a pivotal setting this weekend would be a great tune-up for the playoffs. In and of itself, Saturday's game will be important to win, but the Yankees are still looking at the big picture. Having Fried locked and loaded for October is what matters, and a successful outing against the Red Sox in front of his home fans would certain bolster his confidence heading into the stretch run.

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