The New York Yankees had a Zoom call with top left-handed pitcher Max Fried recently and according to all accounts, the call went very well. Max Fried really liked what he heard from the Yanks and the two sides are proceeding in their talks and will meet for a second time in the near future.
Now, when this news first broke from Michael Kay, the narrative started to become this is the Yankees backup plan should they fail to land Juan Soto. Even Kay himself talked about how this is New York getting their ducks in a row should Soto make the move to Queens or somewhere else. That said, I happen to think that the Yankees should pursue Fried regardless of where they have to go to retain Juan Soto.
The 30-year-old Fried has consistently been one of baseball’s best starting pitchers over the last six seasons. Last year with the Braves, Fried posted a 3.25 ERA after going 11-10 on the year with a FIP of 3.33. His ERAs over the previous four seasons were 2.25, 3.04, 2.48, and 2.55.
The Yankees should go after Fried even if Soto re-signs
Yes, the Yankees have a lot of money tied to the top of their rotation currently. 2023 Cy Young Award Winner Gerrit Cole is the ace of the staff and Carlos Rodon still is making a lot of money over the next three seasons. Young guns like Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt are very solid options along with Nestor Cortes for the back-end of the rotation.
Last offseason, NYY signed Marcus Stroman and while Stroman wasn’t terrible, he seems like someone they want to move on from this offseason. Carlos Rodon was healthy last year but injuries hindered his first year with the Yankees in 2023. Gerrit Cole missed almost the entire first half of the season with an elbow injury that he ultimately battled back from.
Cole isn’t getting younger and Rodon still hasn’t lived up to his full potential. If you ask me, the Yankees would be wise to go after Fried regardless of what happens with Juan Soto. I understand that Hal Steinbrenner has talked about wanting to stay under $300 million dollars and if you sign Soto to a $47 million AAV, it’s going to make things tight.
That said, NYY can move some money around and they can find a way to make it work. Pitching prices are always going to be high as we just saw Luis Severino get $67 million from the A’s. That said, I think it’s worth the investments with the questions surrounding Cole and Rodon atop the rotation as we enter the 16th year after their last World Series title.