Yankees Ace Getting Cy Young Consideration

The New York Yankees relied on a pair of left-handers to lead the club into the postseason.

Aug 27, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) delivers a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

So you're saying there's a chance? New York Yankees left-hander Max Fried will receive consideration for the American League Cy Young Award but come up short, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

That's because Nightengale believes the award will go to Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.

"He is about to become only the fourth left-handed pitcher in baseball history to win back-to-back Cy Young awards, joining Sandy Koufax, Randy Johnson and Clayton Kershaw," Nightengale wrote.

According to Nightengale, Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet will finish second in AL Cy Young voting with Fried coming in third.

That makes for an interesting sub-plot with Fried and Crochet set to square off Tuesday in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series when the Red Sox visit the Bronx.

In his first season with the Yankees, Fried led the majors with a career-high 19 wins. Teammate Carlos Rodon and Crochet tied for second with 18 wins. Skubal won just 13 games.

But Skubal, the reigning Cy Young winner, led the American League with a 2.21 ERA. Crochet was third with a 2.59 ERA. Fried (2.86) finished fourth.

Crochet led the AL with 205.1 innings pitched. Fried, Rodon and Skubal tied for second with 195.1 innings pitched.

But we see some big separation when it comes to WAR among AL pitchers. Skubal led with 6.6, followed by Crochet at 6.3. Fried tied for sixth with 4.5 WAR, which was actually a notch below Rodon (4.6).

Sep 14, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Skubal also led the league in WHIP (0.89). Crochet (1.03) tied for fourth while Fried was ninth (1.10, again trailing Rodon, who posted 1.05).

Crochet led the majors with 255 strikeouts while Skubal came in second with 241. Fried (189) tied for 17th.

The Boston ace also led the AL with 11.2 K/9, slightly ahead of Skubal (11.1). Fried (8.7) was 16th in the league.

While Fried seems destined to finish third in the AL Cy Young voting, there's no doubt the Yankees got what they paid for in the southpaw.

Fried, 31, signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with New York in December.

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