The New York Yankees and Max Fried are in agreement on a 8-year $218 million deal according to Jeff Passan, as Plan B for the Bronx Bombers is underway. Last season Fried posted a 3.25 ERA across 29 starts with the Atlanta Braves, striking out 166 batters across 174.1 innings pitched. He’s spent his entire Major League career as a Brave, posting a 3.07 ERA across 884.1 innings, and being one of the best pitchers in the sport since 2020. His 2.81 ERA over that five-year window is the best for any starting pitcher in baseball with at least 500 innings pitched.
With Fried at the helm, the Bronx Bombers have shored up their rotation and can now pivot to their lineup, which will need some serious heavy lifting with Juan Soto headed to the Mets.
Max Fried Adds Dominant Left-Handed Arm to Yankees’ Rotation
The New York Yankees were going to be aggressively shopping on the market for potential Plan B options, and Max Fried matches up with their rotation needs very well. A savvy left-hander who boasts a deep repertoire of pitches, he can throw three different fastballs, two different sliders, and a changeup as well. Last season he didn’t use a single pitch above 33% of the time, as he relies on deception and command to keep hitters off-balance and efficiently get outs.
Low walk rates and high groundball rates are at the center of Max Fried’s style of pitching, as he walked just 6.3% of batters faced from 2020-2024 while having a 54.2% groundball rate. His ability to throw so many different pitches makes him a nightmare for hitters to face, as Fried threw all seven of his pitches at least 130 times in 2024.
The way he pitches should bode well for him at Yankee Stadium, where he would have allowed just 18 home runs instead of 22 over the last three seasons if he pitched all of his games there. With Fried now under contract, the Yankees should make it a priority to shore up their infield defense, which they might be able to do with their interest in Christian Walker.
Christian Walker, who the Yankees have renewed conversations with at the Winter Meetings, is a premium defensive player who would help convert Max Fried’s groundballs into outs. The Yankees have set their sights on various pivot avenues, and while Fried and Walker would cost the team draft compensation because of the Qualifying Offer, the team is getting a fourth-round pick back for Juan Soto that should help offset that.
With Soto in Queens, the Yankees have plenty of work to do to ensure that their roster can go out and compete for a World Series in 2025, and Fried is a step in the right direction. His deal is pending a physical, as the Yankees await those medical reports before they officially announce this deal.