Max Fried, a career National Leaguer who hails from Los Angeles, shocked the baseball world when he … More
Max Fried doesn’t get flustered.
On the eve of his official debut with the New York Yankees, the 6’4″ left-hander said he enjoyed being a Yankee Stadium spectator on Opening Day.
Scheduled to pitch the second game of the 2025 season on Saturday, Fried never lets his emotions get the best of him.
“I haven’t heard much, but to me, it’s not a big deal,” he said when informed of his assignment to work Game 2. “Whenever they tell me to pitch, I’ll be ready to go.”
The Yankees can’t wait to see him work. They won an off-season bidding war for the Santa Monica native, who had been linked with his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers.
Surprise Signing
Instead, he surprised the baseball world by signing an eight-year, $218 million contract that was the largest and longest ever given a left-handed pitcher. Even Hall of Famers Randy Johnson and Sandy Koufax did not receive such riches.
A two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, Fried was also the last pitcher to win a Silver Slugger – given to the player at each position with the best batting performance. He hit .273 in 2021, the last year National League pitchers could hit before the designated hitter – originally introduced in 1973 – finally became universal.
Fried’s 71 wins since 2019 trail only Yankees teammate Gerrit Cole, whose total of 79 won’t change this year as he recuperates from Tommy John elbow surgery.
Gerrit Cole’s Tommy John surgery created a huge void in the Yankee rotation that Max Fried is hoping … More
He is the latest in a long line of top-flight left-handers who have worn Yankees pinstripes. That list includes Lefty Gomez, Whitey Ford, fellow Hall of Famer CC Sabathia, and Cooperstown candidate Andy Pettitte, who threw out the first pitch Thursday before the Yankees beat the Brewers, 4-2, at a raucous Yankee Stadium.
Last year, Fried went 11-10 with a tidy 3.25 earned run average for the Atlanta Braves, the only team he has known during eight years in the majors. His lifetime ERA is even better: 3.07. And it’s a best-in-baseball 2.8l since 2020 for all pitchers with threw 500 innings.
Stingy Southpaw
He had been expected to form a rock-solid left/right tandem with Cole but will now have to serve as ace of the staff without a right-handed partner.
Fried, 31, is a master of mix-and-match on the mound. He throws seven pitches – seven – and is especially adept at breaking off sweeping curves that find their way into the strike zone. He’s also a prolific pickoff artist.
Although he had minor forearm issues over the past two seasons, Fried is unflappable when healthy. He pitched six scoreless innings at batter-friendly Minute Maid Park to win the decisive Game 6 of the 2021 World Series for the Braves against the Astros.
Since donning his usual No. 54 this spring, Fried has made four starts, posting a 1-0 record and 3.38 ERA for New York in Grapefruit League competition.
His guaranteed contract runs through the 2032 season.
If Fried maintains the momentum he showed in Atlanta, the Yankees plan to defend the American League East crown they won last year. But any of their four division rivals – especially the fortified Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays – could challenge.
Counting Fried, the 2025 Yankees have 11 free agent signees on their 26-man roster. The other key newcomers are first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, starter Ryan Yarbrough, closer Devin Williams, and former National League MVP Cody Bellinger, an outfielder-first baseman,
According to Roster Resource, the team is the only one in the American League with a projected luxury tax payroll of $307 million. The site lists three National League teams ahead of them: the Dodgers, Mets, and Phillies.
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