New York Yankees Star Free Agent Addition Shows Plenty of Positives in Spring Debut

When the New York Yankees had to accept the harsh reality of outfielder Juan Soto no longer being with the team after signing the largest contract in sports history, they pivoted to improve their defense and pitching.

The biggest splash they made in free agency was signing All-Star Max Fried.

A former Atlanta Braves star, he agreed to the largest contract in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher, signing an eight-year, $218 million deal.

He will be a great complement to Gerrit Cole atop the team’s starting rotation, providing them with arguably the best one-two punch in baseball.

Some insiders and analysts actually hold Fried in higher regard than Cole entering 2025, as pitching is going to certainly be a strength for the team.

Fried fit the bill as a double whammy, as he is a three-time Gold Glove Award winner as one of the best defensive pitchers in the game.

After the disastrous display of defense they showed in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, it made sense for the team to put an emphasis on it during the offseason.

On March 3rd, fans got to see Fried take the mound for the first time with his new team.

The results were a bit underwhelming, as he pitched 2.1 innings and allowed two hits with two walks and one hit batter, being charged with two runs. He did add two strikeouts as well.

During the exhibition season, stats and outcomes don’t mean anything. The most important thing is getting work in and ramping things up for the marathon regular season.

Against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Fried did provide plenty of positives, as his stuff is starting to round into form.

Despite several runners getting on, there wasn’t any hard contact generated against him. He had a 0.0% barrel rate in the outing. He also generated a good amount of swing and misses with a 27.3% whiff rate.

His sweeper looks to be in midseason form already with a 110 proStuff+ score and 33.3% whiff rate. The changeup was also getting the job done with a 104 proStuff+ score and 25% whiff rate.

Max Fried struck out two over 2.1 innings against the Pirates in his Yankees Spring Training debut!

His sweeper (110 proStuff+) was his best pitch, generating a 33.3% whiff rate, while his changeup also played well with a 25.0% whiff rate! pic.twitter.com/pLnYHXBRQ3
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 4, 2025

Generating so many swings and misses early on is a good sign of things to come.

It was certainly encouraging to see several of his complementary pitches already being useful, as they will only get better once his four-seam fastball and sinker, his two primary pitches, round into form.

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