Yankees to signal lefty Max Fried to 8-year, $218 million contract

DALLAS — After his big-league debut in 2019, Max Fried loved an prolonged run higher than some other Atlanta Braves pitcher since John Smoltz, the final of the group’s “Big Three” Hall of Fame pitchers to depart the franchise practically twenty years in the past.

Now it’s Fried’s flip to depart the franchise that turned him right into a star. On Tuesday, Fried agreed to signal an eight-year, $218 million take care of the New York Yankees, a league supply confirmed to The Athletic. The deal, first reported by ESPN, is probably the most profitable ever for a left-handed pitcher and the fourth-largest pitching contract general. The transfer comes after the Yankees’ failed pursuit of Juan Soto. Prior to agreeing with the Yankees, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays each had curiosity within the southpaw.

Fried, who’ll flip 31 in January, entered the offseason as The Athletic’s No. 4 ranked free agent, and was projected by The Athletic’s Tim Britton to signal a five-year deal value $140 million. Since his first full season within the majors, he’s posted a 71-31 document with a 3.06 ERA.

Over the previous six seasons, Gerrit Cole (79-33) is the one pitcher with extra wins than Fried, who went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA in 29 begins in 2024, regardless of being briefly sidelined by a forearm subject, the second 12 months of the identical damage.

Fried went to arbitration with the Braves in 2022 and once more in 2023 — he gained the primary case, misplaced the second — earlier than settling with the group on a $15 million deal final winter to keep away from a 3rd listening to.

It’s unclear if the Braves and Fried have been ever near a long-term extension. The Braves made him a qualifying supply ($21.05 million) in November to guarantee they might get draft choose compensation if he signed elsewhere.

Among pitchers with 800 or extra innings previously six seasons, solely Cole (2.98) had a decrease ERA than Fried (3.06). Still, the truth that Fried didn’t have sufficient innings to qualify for some rankings over that interval factors to lingering considerations concerning the well being of the left-hander, notably as he enters his mid-30s.

Throughout his profession, Fried has handled finger blisters and different accidents earlier than the forearm points impacted his previous two seasons. He returned before anticipated from the most recent setback, lacking simply the primary 13 video games after being identified with forearm neuritis following a one-inning look within the All-Star Game.

Before heading to the IL with neuritis, the slender lefty was 7-5 with a 3.08 ERA and two full video games in 18 begins. Over his last 11 common season begins in 2024, he went 5-6 with a 3.53 ERA. His season ended unceremoniously, when in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card sequence towards the San Diego Padres, he allowed 5 runs on eight hits over two innings, having exited the beginning with soreness after taking a line drive off his glute.

That last begin for the Braves got here towards the very group that traded Fried to Atlanta in 2014, a six-player deal that additionally despatched Justin Upton to the Braves.

Fried, a first-round choose in 2012 out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles — the place he was highschool teammates with Jack Flaherty and Lucas Giolito — was a high prospect in the midst of Tommy John surgical procedure rehab when the Padres traded him.

After becoming a member of the Braves rotation in 2019, he shortly developed into considered one of baseball’s elite pitchers. While Tim Hudson had a powerful nine-year stretch with the Braves by way of 2013, Fried is probably the most completed Atlanta starter because the trio of Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux.

Fried completed his Braves tenure as a two-time NL All-Star, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner and the 2021 Silver Slugger winner — the ultimate 12 months a pitcher was awarded the year-end {hardware} earlier than the common DH. He completed fifth in Cy Young Award balloting in 2020 and was runner-up to unanimous winner Sandy Alcantara in 2022, when Fried had a 2.48 ERA in 30 begins with profession highs in innings (185 1/3) and strikeouts (170)

The 2024 season marked the third consecutive postseason disappointment for the Braves and Fried, who was impacted by the flu in 2022 and wasn’t sharp in 2023. In each these years, the Braves misplaced to the Philadelphia Phillies after having gained their fifth and sixth consecutive NL East titles, a streak that resulted in 2024 when Atlanta completed six video games behind Philadelphia within the division.

But earlier than these three fast October exits, there was glory in 2021. And like two different fan-favorite large items of that World Series group, Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson, did earlier than him, Fried exits as a free agent.

(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)