After shedding Juan Soto the stress was on the New York Yankees to make an enormous splash this offseason. Perhaps a number of of them.
They did their finest to make that occur on Tuesday night by agreeing to phrases with left-handed beginning pitcher Max Fried on an eight-year, $218M contract.
Will probably be the most important assured deal ever signed for a left-handed beginning pitcher.
Fried is without doubt one of the finest left-handed starters in baseball and has by no means posted an ERA+ decrease than 114 in his profession. Only for context, a 100 ERA+ is taken into account league common.
In 29 begins with the Atlanta Braves in 2024, Fried was 11-10 with a 128 ERA+ whereas placing out 166 batters in 174 innings.
He’ll be a part of a Yankees beginning rotation that already has Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Carlos Rodon on the prime of it.
Fried is a particular massive splash, however that Yankees cannot cease there they usually need to preserve including this offseason.
They nonetheless have huge holes of their lineup given the departure of Soto and the seemingly departure of Gleyber Torres. Even with Soto their lineup was extremely top-heavy, and now all the pieces is once more falling on Aaron Decide to hold them.
That won’t get them again to the World Sequence.
Fried is an efficient begin. But it surely must be precisely that, a begin.
