A legendary franchise with a rich history that includes 27 World Series championships was not going to be down and out for too long.
Just two days after losing out on a bidding war, the New York Yankees backed up the Brinks truck and are open for business with money to spend, moving on from their pursuit to retain Juan Soto to land southpaw Max Fried on Tuesday evening on an eight-year, $218 million contract, a source familiar with the situation told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The team has not confirmed the agreement.
The deal, which is pending a physical, would be the largest ever issued to a left-handed pitcher and the fourth-largest deal for any pitcher, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (10 years, $700 million) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12 years, $325 million) and Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole (nine years, $324 million).
Fried’s deal will include a full no-trade clause and no deferred money, according to Feinsand.
Fried, who turns 31 in January, is thought to fit in as a formidable No. 2 on the pitching staff who could slot behind Cole in a postseason rotation. Although he has not been good, pitching a 5.10 ERA in 20 career postseason games (12 starts), Fried delivered a six-inning gem against the Houston Astros in the deciding Game 6 of the 2021 World Series.
The Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox were also interested in Fried’s services; on Tuesday afternoon, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman abruptly canceled a scheduled appearance on MLB Network, an indication that bidding was rapidly heating up.
Fried was offered a seven-year deal from at least one ballclub, according to MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi. The Yankees held a Zoom call with Fried, plus a separate session with free-agent right-hander Corbin Burnes, while waiting with bated breath for a final answer from Soto, who agreed Sunday to a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets.
In 2024 with the Atlanta Braves, Fried had an underwhelming 11-10 record and 3.25 ERA in 29 starts, surrendering 146 hits and 57 walks over 174 1/3 innings of work, with 166 strikeouts. He tied for the MLB lead with two complete games and one shutout.
A two-time All-Star (‘22, ‘24) and three-time Gold Glove Award winner, Fried has dealt with his share of injuries over the years (his career-high innings total is 185 1/3, in 2022), but he was healthy for the most part last season.
The seventh overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, Fried is a Southern California native who has compiled a career record of 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA across 168 big league games (151 starts), all in the ATL with the Braves from 2017-24.
Relying heavily on command and finesse, Fried has been outstanding since 2020, posting a dazzling 2.81 ERA, the lowest in MLB among pitchers with at least 500 innings in that span (Burnes is second at 2.88). Fried said ‘no thank you’ to a qualifying offer from the Braves, meaning there is Draft compensation attached to the signing.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe deal comes two years after the Yankees signed left-hander Carlos Rodon to a six-year, $162 million deal, in which they expected him to solidify the top of the rotation behind Cole.
He has been massively disappointing. Rodon 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 in the pinstripes.
With Fried’s acquisition, the Bronx Bombers’ rotation currently is made up of of Cole, Fried, Rodon, AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman.
There is a strong possibility that the Yankees may now look into trades involving Cortes, who is arbitration-eligible after earning $3.95 million this past season.
A deal involving Stroman is another option; owed $18 million for 2025, he was demoted to the bullpen in September and did not appear in their World Series run.
With Soto off the board and Fried now in pocket, the Yankees have more wheeling and dealing to do this offseason, with club brass targeting infielders, outfielders and pitchers.
Skipper Aaron Boone said on Tuesday that he is “more than comfortable” with Jazz Chisholm Jr. at third base unless the club brings in an experienced option; the Cardinals are shopping Nolan Arenado and may be a fit, with agent Joel Wolfe saying Tuesday that the 33-year-old Arenado could waive his no-trade clause to approve a deal to a contender.
Free agent Alex Bregman is another slick-fielding possibility for the hot corner, while the Yankees have expressed interest in free agent first baseman Christian Walker and outfielder Teoscar Hernández. In addition, they have reached out to the ‘North Sider’, the Chicago Cubs regarding outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger.
With Clay Holmes having departed for the Mets and Tim Hill, Tommy Kahnle and Jonathan Loaisiga among the Yankees free agents, Cashman must work to restock a bullpen that shifted on the fly throughout the ’24 campaign.
One leading candidate for the job is left-hander Tanner Scott, who could take over as the closer while shifting Luke Weaver to a setup role. Boone said he has been an interested observer in the team’s suite at the Hilton Anatole, where executives are getting together and bouncing ideas off of each other and crossing off dead ends.
“There’s a lot of conversations happening,” Boone said. “There’s more than one way to build a team.”
