DALLAS (AP) — The New York Yankees hope Max Fried pitches like he did in 2021 — when he gained the World Series clincher for the Atlanta Braves.
Two days after the Yankees misplaced Juan Soto to the rival Mets, Fried agreed Tuesday to affix the pinstripes with a $218 million, eight-year contract, an individual aware of the negotiations advised The Associated Press.
Fried’s deal is the most important for a left-handed pitcher in baseball historical past, $1 million greater than David Price’s seven-year contract with the Boston Red Sox forward of the 2016 season. Fried’s settlement, first reported by ESPN, was topic to a profitable bodily, based on the one who spoke to the AP on situation of anonymity as a result of the deal had not been finalized.
“He’s one of many recreation’s actually, actually good pitchers and has a extremely good observe file now of success,” Yankees supervisor Aaron Boone stated Wednesday. “He’s a particular expertise.”
Yankees followers had been offended after Soto accepted the Mets’ $765 million, 15-year supply over the Yankees’ $760 million, 16-year proposal. The Yankees then redirected cash to beginning pitching, although Fried represents some threat: The two-time All-Star has been on the injured checklist 10 instances since 2018, together with no less than as soon as every season.
A highschool teammate of Jack Flaherty and Lucas Giolito at Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles, Fried will get the fourth-highest contract amongst pitchers behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million for 12 years by way of 2035), the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole ($324 million for 9 years by way of 2028) and Washington’s Stephen Strasburg ($245 million for seven years by way of 2026). Strasburg hasn’t pitched since 2022 and has retired.
Yankees employees met with Fried on a Zoom session throughout the negotiations.
“Obviously watching him from afar during the last a number of years you already know this can be a man you possibly can inform actually competes nicely on the mound and that got here throughout in our assembly with him,” Boone stated.
After spending his first eight seasons with the Braves, Fried joins a listing of rotation prospects that additionally consists of Cole, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman, making extra strikes doubtless. He reached the settlement on the day Cortes turned 30 and Rodón turned 32.
A 3-time Gold Glove winner who turns 31 on Jan. 18, Fried has one of many broadest repertoires within the main leagues, throwing seven completely different pitches. He averaged 93.9 mph this yr along with his fastball, which he threw 33.6% of the time. Fried blended in 21% curveballs, 15.6% sinkers, 13.6% changeups, 5.9% sweepers, 5.6% sliders and 4.7% cutters.
He was 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA over 29 begins this yr, putting out 166 and strolling a career-high 57 in 174 1/3 innings. Fried missed time for left forearm neuritis, his seventh straight season on the IL.
He had prior IL stints for a blister on the center finger of his pitching hand and strained left groin (2018), blister on left index finger (2019), muscle spasm on left aspect of again (2020), strained proper hamstring (2021), concussion (2022) and strained left hamstring, strained left forearm and blister on left index finger (2023).
“There’s inherent dangers,” Boone stated, “however we really feel like he’s a extremely good pitcher and the way in which he goes about it, prepares, trains, we really feel like he’s doing the whole lot he can to be a man that’s capable of constantly go to the publish.”
Fried was the seventh total choose within the 2012 newbie draft by the San Diego. He had Tommy John surgical procedure in August 2014 and was traded to the Braves in December 2014 as a part of a six-player deal that despatched outfielder Justin Upton to the Padres.
He made his main league debut in August 2017 and was optioned to the minors 5 instances in 2018.
Fried was 17-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 2019 and 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA within the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, ending fifth within the National League Cy Young Award voting.
He went 14-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 2021, when he pitched six scoreless innings to beat Houston in World Series Game 6, and was 14-7 with a 2.48 ERA in 2022, when he made his first All-Star crew. Fried was 8-1 with a 2.55 ERA over 14 begins in 2023.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
