DALLAS — Max Fried and the New York Yankees have agreed to a eight-year, $218 million contract, the largest deal for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history, according to a person familiar with the negotiations.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.
New York made the move two days after outfielder Juan Soto left for a pending 15-year, $765 million contract with the rival Mets.
Fried, who turns 31 in January, gets the fourth-highest contract among pitchers behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million), the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole ($324 million) and Washington’s Stephen Strasburg ($245 million), who hasn’t pitched since 2022 and has retired. Fried broke the mark for lefties set by David Price at $217 million.
Fried joins a potential rotation that already included Cole, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman.
Fried spent his first eight seasons with the Braves, making the All-Star team in 2022 and 2024. He had his first big season in 2019, finishing 17-6 with a 4.02 ERA.
He was 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, finishing fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting. The three-time Gold Glove winner had his best season in 2022, going 14-7 with a 2.48 ERA.
Fried was 8-1 with a 2.55 ERA in an injury-hampered 2023 season, then was 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA over 29 starts this year.
Read the full article here