NEW YORK – The final pitch of Max Fried’s first regular season as a Yankee was a well-located fastball, coaxing a routine flyout near the wall in right field at Yankee Stadium. As Aaron Judge settled under it, the lanky left-hander journeyed across the foul line, his steps accompanied by applause.
It capped a stellar debut campaign in pinstripes for Fried, one that produced several new career highs. But as he accepted congratulations in the dugout, Fried acknowledged that his most important workload still lies ahead.
“It’s not finished yet,” Fried said after the Yankees’ 8-1 victory over the White Sox. “It’s been very apparent that the goal of this team is to go to the playoffs, get deep into the playoffs and win a World Series.”
Supported by Judge’s 50th and 51st homers, the Yankees seized a share of first place in the American League East for the first time since July 3, pulling even with the Blue Jays (who own the head-to-head tiebreaker) and setting up what could be a frantic finish to the division race.
Paired with Ben Rice behind the plate for the first time this season – a potential playoff preview – Fried won his sixth straight start to become the Majors’ first 19-game winner, striking out seven over seven innings of one-run, four-hit ball.
Fried wrapped his first regular season in the Bronx by posting new career highs in wins (19), starts (32), innings (195 1/3) and strikeouts (189), finishing 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA. Fried’s 19 wins match the most by a Yankee in the past 15 years (also CC Sabathia in 2011 and Luis Severino in ‘18).
“He’s everything you’d want from a guy at the top of your rotation,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We couldn’t have asked for more. He’s such a pro, so talented, such a great teammate and such an important part now of our pitching culture here.”
Those 19 wins tie Sabathia (2009) and Ed Figueroa (1976) for the third most by a Yankee in his first season with the club during the Expansion Era (since 1961), trailing only Catfish Hunter (23 in 1975) and Tommy John (21 in 1979).
Despite a midseason lull that was likely related to a blister issue, Fried said his turning point came on Aug. 22 vs. Boston, when he fired six scoreless innings in a no-decision. Fried said that outing brought him “back to myself, mixing pitches, trying to make pitches – and then everything sort of fell in line.”
Overall, it was exactly the type of performance the Yankees were banking on when they issued Fried the largest deal ever issued to a left-handed pitcher, an eight-year, $218 million pact that was part of their rebound strategy after watching Juan Soto sign across town with the Mets.
“He’s been an ace,” Judge said. “From the very first day, he was like, ‘I want to help out. I want to help this team win and get us back where we belong.’”
The circumstances shifted when Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery in the spring, shelving hopes of a dominant Cole-Fried tandem until at least mid-2026.
“As a team, we definitely would love to have Gerrit Cole, because he’s one of the best pitchers in the world,” Fried said. “But as far as how it affected me individually, same standard, same motivation.”
Instead, Fried and Carlos Rodón (17-9, 3.04 ERA in 32 starts) have largely carried the load – something they anticipate doing into October, lined up as the Nos. 1-2 starters for whatever round the Yankees find themselves in to begin the march toward the World Series.
“I like to put a lot of team goals in front of how I individually do,” Fried said. “So if we come out and go deep into the playoffs and win a World Series, then I’ll say it was pretty successful. But we have a long way to go.”