by After failing to convince Juan Soto to come back to the Bronx, the New York Yankees went out and signed lefthander Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract.
Fried, the former Atlanta Brave, was one of the most sought-after starting pitchers this offseason, and his contract represents the highest ever given to a left-handed pitcher.
“He’s one of the game’s really, really good pitchers and has a really good track record now of success,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said at the Winter Meetings on Wednesday. “He’s a special talent.”
Fried is a very talented pitcher, but eight years, even for a southpaw, seems excessive, especially given his injury history, which was illustrated by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“Fried had prior IL stints for a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand and strained left groin (2018), blister on left index finger (2019), muscle spasm on left side of back (2020), strained right hamstring (2021), concussion (2022) and strained left hamstring, strained left forearm and blister on left index finger (2023).”
The last lefthander to get that big of a deal was David Price, who signed a seven-year, $217 million contract with Boston. The Yankees are hoping the Fried contract has a better result, as Price’s only ace-level season was 2016, the first year of the deal. He was hurt in 2017, bounced back a bit in 2018 and was hurt again in 2019. Price opted out of the 2020 COVID-shortened season, then spent two oft-injured seasons with the Dodgers before calling it a career.
On the positive side, Fried joins staff ace Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, and Nestor Cortes in the rotation, with other starters Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman.
The move gives the Yankees a deeper rotation, but they have yet to address the gaping hole in the lineup left by Soto’s departure. Some have suggested that trading from a “surplus” of starting pitchers would be a good place to start.
In a potential deal for Houston right fielder Kyle Tucker, the rumor is that any deal would start with Gil, who was the AL Rookie of The Year in 2024.
In my opinion, this is dumb. First off, when was the last time the Yankees developed a homegrown SP? Secondly, there’s no such thing as a pitching surplus anymore, especially with the injury concerns for Cole and Cortes. Stroman was so pedestrian last year (10-9, 4.31 ERA, 1.47 WHIP), he was left off the postseason roster. He’d be a good trade candidate except for the fact he makes $18 million in 2025.
Also, Tucker will be a free agent in 2026, so they would be making the same gamble they lost with Soto. They had to deal Michael King to the Padres in that deal, and he was a NL Cy Young finalist last year.
Trading young pitching is never a good idea, especially in today’s game, where starting pitchers are getting a tremendous amount of money.
The offseason is hardly over for the Yankees and Brian Cashman, but after the gut punch of losing Soto, they rebounded nicely with the signing of Fried.
