Following Juan Soto’s signing on Sunday, another top free agent has come off the block as left-hander Max Fried has agreed to a eight-year deal worth $218 million with the New York Yankees. This is the first big acquisition of the offseason for the Yankees and it’s a much-needed get to a team needing a starting pitcher for their rotation.
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Max Fried
Fried was drafted by the San Diego Padres with the seventh overall pick in the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft. He was traded to the Braves in 2014 as part of the deal that sent Justin Upton to the Padres. He made his debut on August 8, 2017, against the Phillies going two shutout innings giving up two hits; he walked two and struck out one. He finished his rookie season making nine appearances with four of those coming as starts going 1-1 with a 3.81 ERA, a 4.81 FIP, a 1.62 WHIP, a 4.2 BB/9, and a 7.6 K/9 in 26 innings. 2025 will be his ninth season for his career he’s made 168 appearances with 151 of those coming as starts going 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA, a 3.29 FIP, a 1.16 WHIP, a 2.5 BB/9, and an 8.8 K/9 in 884.1 innings. Last season, he made 29 starts going 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA, a 3.33 FIP, a 1.16 WHIP, a 2.9 BB/9, and an 8.6 K/9 in 174.1 innings. He is a two-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, he also finished in the top five in Cy Young voting in 2020 and 2022; he finished second in 2022 losing to Sandy Alcantara.
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Bottom Line:
The rotation now looks like this the Yankees, Gerrit Cole, Fried, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, and Marcus Stroman. The addition of Fried will likely force Clarke Schmidt to the bullpen and gives the Yankees a talented rotation to kick off free agency.
