Max Fried’s return from the injured list (IL) was good while it lasted. Hopefully, that good will be available again come postseason time, which is just around the corner.

Fried returned to the IL on Friday, ending his regular season. It was a tremendous return to the Braves’ starting rotation following a left forearm injury that led him to miss nearly three months of the season.

This time, Fried’s injury is due to a blister on his index finger. Fried has time to heal up. The Braves are not scheduled to open the postseason until Saturday, Oct. 7, when they will host the first round of the National League Division Series.

That is 15 days if the Braves were planning for Fried to start the opener. If they choose the conservative approach and started some combination of Spencer Strider/Bryce Elder/Charlie Morton to open the series and saved Fried for the game 3 or 4 on the road, that would be about 18 or 19 days for him to rest up.

That should be plenty of time for Fried to return, which is essential to the Braves’ World Series hopes. Yes, the Braves have the best offense in the game, but they also have the potential for a shaky starting rotation.

Strider can wrack up the strikeouts (270) but also the home runs (21). Elder’s ERA has ballooned to 3.63 but it was 5.96 in July, 4.88 in August and 4.57 in September.

Fried had moments this season of showcasing ace-like abilities on the mound. He concluded the regular season with an 8-1 record and 2.55 ERA. He fanned 80 batters and walked just 18 in 77 2/3 innings in 14 starts. As I have documented before, Fried is the ace of the rotation and one of the top southpaws in the game. He finished runner-up to the Cy Young Award in 2022 and has tallied a 62-26 record and 3.03 ERA in 122 starts since debuting with the Braves in 2017.

Fried’s poise, guile and experience helped spur the Braves to the World Series championship in 2022. Who can forget his game 6 championship-clinching performance against the Houston Astros when he pitched six scoreless innings?

No one will doubt Fried’s ability if he is able to return from this latest setback. But at this point, it’s his availability that the Braves need the most.