Hot Stove Takes: Max Fried Gives Yankees Elite Rotation, Opens Trade Possibilities

The Braves’ former ace is reportedly signing with the Yankees for eight years and $218 million, a record for a lefthanded pitcher.

Fried is headed to the Bronx after eight seasons with the Braves. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

This piece is part of our Hot Stove Takes series, where staff members give quick reactions to the latest notable MLB transactions. Below are our thoughts on Max Fried’s eight-year, $218 million contract with the New York Yankees.

Stephanie Apstein: This is a good move for the Yankees. With Juan Soto gone, they need to shore up the lineup, but Fried takes the rotation from a question mark to a strength, and he profiles as the kind of pitcher who will age well.

Fried doesn’t have overwhelming stuff, but his exceptional command and ability to avoid hard contact are likely to make him valuable even as his velocity declines. Along with Gerrit Cole, the Yankees suddenly boast an elite top two, and it takes some pressure off Carlos Rodón to be great. Fried’s presence also allows them to consider trading Clarke Schmidt or Nestor Cortés for a hitter. 

Will Laws: The Yankees now boast the best 1–2 rotation punch in the American League with Cole and Fried, who’s been one of MLB’s more underrated aces of the decade. The No. 7 pick of the 2012 draft owns the best ERA (2.81) among the 67 pitchers with at least 500 innings over the last five years and ranks second in home run rate. It’s worth noting that fellow southpaw Rodón has found it much harder to keep the ball in the park at Yankee Stadium than he used to, but Fried had few issues in Atlanta’s hitter-friendly Truist Park.

Fried’s injury issues are a bit overstated, as he made just 14 starts in 2023 but has missed no more than four turns through the Atlanta Braves’ rotation every other year since ’19. It’s difficult for any pitcher to stay healthy throughout his thirties—Fried turns 31 in January—but he’s avoided major injuries since undergoing Tommy John surgery as a San Diego Padres prospect over a decade ago.

The Braves still have a trio of formidable starters in reigning National League Cy Young winner Chris Sale, 2024 All-Star Reynaldo López and strikeout machine Spencer Strider, who’s expected to miss the first month of next season while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. But with Charlie Morton still mulling whether to retire or return to Atlanta at age 41, the Braves could certainly end up missing the pitcher who started the clincher of their '21 World Series win. Expect them to scour the trade market for an arm they could comfortably start in a playoff game to help fill Fried’s big footprints.

Ryan Phillips: In 2024, Fried went 11–10 while his ERA, WHIP and FIP were at their highest since ’19. That said, having an ERA of 3.25 is nothing to sneer at. He allowed 146 hits and walked 57 in 174 1/3 innings while striking out 166. It could have just been a down year or it could be the start of a trend as he ages. 

On the surface, the Yankees added a three-time All-MLB selection to a rotation that already featured Cole, Rodón and Rookie of the Year Luis Gil. Even if Fried merely repeats his 2024 performance next year, the Yankees have the pieces to field the AL’s best rotation.

After missing out on Blake Snell amid the then-ongoing Juan Soto negotiations, the Yankees pivoted to the next-best lefty starter on the market and locked Fried up for eight years with an AAV of $27.25 million. It's a longer deal than many expected Fried to get and few thought he'd eclipse $200 million. Still fewer believed he'd get the largest contract for a lefthander in baseball history. It's a big risk for the Yankees, given Fried is about to turn 31 and coming off a season that didn't live up to his usual excellence.