The New York Yankees introduced the two-time all-star and 2021 World Series champion starting left-handed pitcher Max Fried in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon with general manager Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, and pitching coach Matt Blake in attendance.
“The job at hand always is to gravitate to some of the better ballplayers in the game and bring them here for our fans to watch play on the biggest stage we think in baseball, and the effort is to put together the best team you can possibly do. When we started this winter program, we saw the free agent opportunities out there and Max Fried was at the very top of the list for us. He was someone that we watched from afar, what he has done has torn us up on a few occasions for pitching with Atlanta, and kind of had dreams along the way about having that lefty in pinstripes if the opportunity ever came up,” Cashman opened the press conference with the introduction of Fried joining the organization on Wednesday afternoon.
That opportunity came up for Cashman to boost the rotation by signing the 30-year-old from Santa Monica, Calif., with an eight-year contract worth $218 million to be with the defending American League champions on December 17.
“I have so many people to thank for supporting me up to this point. Being a baseball fan, you know what it means, and you know what the standard is the Yankees hold. Putting on the pinstripes is a certain responsibility and expectation that comes with that, and I’m extremely excited to take that opportunity on,” Fried said during the press conference.
The three-time Gold Glove award winner’s contract with the Yankees will include a $20,000,000 signing bonus, $218,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $27,250,000.
In 2025, Fried will earn a base salary of $12,000,000, a signing bonus of $10,000,000, and a total salary of $14,500,000.
Fried will be an unrestricted free agent in 2033.
“Max was at the top of the board for us. I can see his name on the board of our suite at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. We had the opportunity to talk to Max and his representation on a 90-minute Zoom call to see if Max was a fit. We wanted to close that gap, like Cashman said earlier, and get the feeling to see if “YEA” this is a fit, and we know that we’re dealing with an All-Star pitcher, a great pitcher with that track record of success and you got to feel that connection that he wants us too, Boone said during the press conference on Wednesday.
Last year with the Atlanta Braves in his All-Star season, Fried went 11-10, posting a 3.25 ERA in 29 starts, throwing two complete games, one shutout, blazing 174.1 innings, allowing 146 hits, 63 earned runs, 13 home runs, 57 walks, 166 strikeouts, and a 1.164 WHIP.
“I’m really excited about what he is going to bring to our team, and I think he is the kind of pitcher who knows what he is able to do with the ball and how many pitches, and just his ability to evolve is going to serve him and us the life of his contract. We’re trying to chase down that championship, and we feel like we’ve added a championship piece that we think is an outstanding starting rotation with adding Fried to the staff”, Boone said on Wednesday.
Fried was the No. 2 starter with Atlanta, under the tall task of No. 1 Chris Sale, and above No. 3 Charlie Morton, No. 4 Reynaldo Lopez, and No. 5 Spencer Schwellenbach being in the rotation for the 2024 regular season under manager Brian Snitker.
Atlanta’s pitching staff used 30 pitchers in the 2024 season, between their starting rotation and their bullpen this past season, and posted a 26.2 WAR with a 3.49 ERA, 40 saves, throwing 1,443.1 innings, allowing 1,277 hits, 559 earned runs, 150 home runs, 449 walks, 1,553 strikeouts, and a 1.196 WHIP.
The Braves finished tied for second place in the National League East Division with the New York Mets at 89-73 and were swept by the San Diego Padres in the best-of-three Wild Card Series.
Fried last Major League Baseball season, was 15th in earned-run average, 56th in allowing hits, tied with Nestor Cortes for 34th in innings pitched, tied for 70th with Corbin Burnes, Kyle Harrison, Cole Irvin, Taj Bradley, and Zack Littell with earned runs, tied for 40th in strikeouts with Mitch Keller, Nathan Eovaldi, and Ronel Blanco, and ranked 32nd with his WHIP at 1.16.
Fried, Kevin Gausman, and Cristopher Sanchez were the only starters who threw two complete games in the 2024 MLB regular season.
The 2025 projected Yankees starting pitching rotation is set up with No. 1 Gerrit Cole, No. 2 Max Fried, No. 3 Carlos Rodon, No. 4 Luis Gil, No. 5 Clarke Schmidt, and No. 6 Marcus Stroman.
Under Boone last season, the Yankees’ starting rotation and bullpen had a 17.3 WAR, a 3.76 ERA, 45 saves, 1,452.2 innings pitched, 1,272 hits allowed, 607 earned runs, 181 home runs, 533 walks, 1,457 strikeouts, and a 1.243 WHIP.
On December 13, starting southpaw Nestor Cortes Jr. and infield prospect Caleb Duran were traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, resulting in the Bronx Bombers acquiring right-handed reliever Devin Williams. The Brewers also received cash considerations for acquiring Cortes and Duran.
Last season, Cortes was placed on the 15-day injured list on September 25 with a left rotator cuff strain and was activated shortly after on September 30.
Cortes was 9-10 in the 2024 season with a 3.77 ERA starting in 30 games and 31 appearances, throwing 174.1 innings, allowing 162 hits, 73 earned runs, 24 home runs, 39 walks, 162 strikeouts, and a 1.153 WHIP after helping the Bronx Bombers win the AL East Division title with their record at 94-68.
In the 2024 postseason, Cortes came out of the bullpen in the World Series against the Dodgers on the road on October 25 in Game One and at home on October 28 in Game Three, and had one save opportunity, throwing two innings with a 9.00 ERA, allowing one hit, two earned runs, one home run being the game-winner to Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the tenth inning in Chavez Ravine, one walk, and one strikeout after losing in five games.
The Yankees are paying $45.4 million between Fried, Williams, and Cody Bellinger for the 2025 season, with Juan Soto being paid by the New York Mets for $55 million.
The Pinstripes got the 2017 NL ROY, two-time All-Star, and 2020 World Series champion from the Chicago Cubs on December 17 after trading right-handed pitcher Cody Poteet to the Windy City.
The Yankees will receive $5 million to offset the left-handed slugger’s contract, which has two years and $52.5 million remaining. Bellinger’s contract also includes a $25 million option for 2026 that can be bought out for $5 million.
Fried utilizes his pitching mechanics with seven different pitches: a four-seam fastball, sweeper, sinker, curveball, cutter, slider, and changeup.
According to Baseball Savant, Fried’s curveball notches at 74.6 mph with a 37.1 whiff percentage and a 30.6 putaway percentage. His sinker creases in at 93.6 mph with a 13.7 whiff percentage and a 16.7 putaway percentage, and has a sweeper that surfs in at 80.6 mph with a 35.8 whiff percentage and a 30 putaway percentage.
During his eight-year career with the Braves, Fried has posted a lifetime record of 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA. He has thrown six complete games, four shutouts, and a flaming 884.1 innings, allowing 783 hits, 302 earned runs, 76 home runs, 246 walks, 863 strikeouts, and a 1.164 WHIP.
“Winning is a big priority for me. At the end of the day, the Yankees come to spring training every single year, and the No. 1 goal is to win the World Series. It’s not to get to the playoffs, it’s not to do anything besides holding up the trophy at the end of the year and knowing that I was going to potentially a long commitment and I was going to be able to be in a place where I was going to win year in and year out,” Fried said on Wednesday afternoon.
The Yankees will begin spring training on February 21 at home against the Tampa Bay Rays at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. at 1:05 p.m. EST. They will open the 2025 regular season on March 27 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers at 3:05 p.m. EDT.
