The Yankees lost one bidding war (Juan Soto) but won another (Max Fried) at the Baseball Winter Meetings.
Just days after losing the top hitter on the free-agent market, the New York Yankees have landed the top left-handed pitcher.
They signed two-time All-Star Max Fried, soon to turn 31, on an eight-year, $218 million contract that becomes official if he passes a physical.
Paired with holdover right-hander Gerrit Cole, a former Cy Young Award winner, Fried gives the Yankees a powerful left-right tandem at the top of their rotation. He also continues a team tradition of strong southpaw starters that dates back to Hall of Famer Whitey Ford but also includes current Cooperstown candidates CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte.
To get Fried, the Yankees had to engage in their second bidding war of the week.
After losing Juan Soto to the crosstown Mets Tuesday, the Yankees added an eighth year to their original offer, according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Contract terms were reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN.Yankees Up Their Offer
Because the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers were also finalists for Fried, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Yankees reached deep into their coffers to secure the pitcher’s signature. He wound up with more years and more money than Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who signed last month with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That signing may have knocked Fried, a Santa Monica native, out of a reunion with former Atlanta teammate Freddie Freeman, most recently the World Series MVP whose home run heroics gave the Dodgers the 2024 world championship over the Yankees in five games.
