Lauded by his new manager as “a special talent,” Max Fried tried on the Yankees’ pinstripes for the first time on Wednesday, when the left-hander was introduced in a Yankee Stadium news conference.
The Yankees formally announced their signing of the 30-year-old Fried on Tuesday, a week after reaching agreement on an eight-year, $218 million contract during the Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas.
It is the largest contract ever issued to a left-handed pitcher and the fourth largest to date for any pitcher. Fried’s pact also includes a full no-trade clause and no deferred money, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
“He’s one of the game’s really good pitchers,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Fried last week in Dallas. “He has a really good track record of success.”
The Yanks are pleased with the addition of Fried, envisioning him as a formidable No. 2 who could slot behind Gerrit Cole in a postseason rotation. Though he has pitched to a 5.10 ERA in 20 career postseason games (12 starts), Fried delivered a six-inning gem against the Astros in the deciding Game 6 of the 2021 World Series.
The Blue Jays, Rangers and Red Sox were also known to be in pursuit of Fried. A two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner, Fried received at least one seven-year proposal from a competing club.
Last season with the Braves, Fried pitched to an 11-10 record and 3.25 ERA in 29 starts, permitting 146 hits and 57 walks over 174 1/3 innings, with 166 strikeouts.
He tied for the MLB lead with two complete games and one shutout, ranking second in ground ball percentage (59%, first in NL) and opponents’ slugging percentage (.315, first in NL).
Fried also ranked among the league leaders in ground ball to fly ball ratio (3.00, third in MLB), home runs per nine innings (0.67, sixth in MLB) and opponents’ OPS (.609, seventh in MLB).
Though Fried has dealt with some injuries over the years (his career-high innings total is 185 1/3, in 2022), he was mostly healthy in ’24, when he finished the campaign with a 2.82 ERA over his final 27 starts.
The seventh overall selection in the 2012 MLB Draft, Fried is a Southern California product who has compiled a career record of 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA across 168 big league games (151 starts), all with the Braves from 2017-24.
Relying heavily on command and spin, Fried has been especially effective since 2020, posting a 2.81 ERA -- the lowest in MLB among pitchers with at least 500 innings in that span (free agent Corbin Burnes is second at 2.88).
The deal comes two years after the Yankees signed left-hander Carlos Rodón to a six-year, $162 million deal, in which they expected him to solidify the top of the rotation behind Cole. Rodón struggled with injuries in his first season but posted better results this past year, tallying a 19-17 record and 4.74 ERA across his first 46 starts as a Yankee.
With Fried’s acquisition and a subsequent trade that sent left-hander Nestor Cortes to the Brewers in exchange for right-handed closer Devin Williams, the Bombers’ rotation currently is comprised of Cole, Fried, Rodón, AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman.
“I think our rotation is currently a strength without any imports, and we have depth from the system, too,” Cashman said in Dallas. “We’re deeper, we’re stronger, but do we have enough? Can you have enough? Or if you import anything else, does it give you more flexibility in the marketplace to do other things? Those are all the things we have to decide.”