Yankees Ace Max Fried Being More Critical Than Necessary

Is there a good word to describe Max Fried's final start with the New York Yankees? "Abysmal" is one. For those with a flair for the dramatic, "cataclysmic" could be another.

One start does not define a player, though. In the case of Fried, the very definition of an Opening Day starter, it does not even define a postseason run. Before imploding in Toronto against the Blue Jays, the talk around town was that Aaron Boone bungled game one of the American League Wild Card series against the hated Red Sox by not keeping Fried in the game.

Jul 23, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) takes the ball from pitcher Max Fried (54) in the sixth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

On the Boston end of things, Garett Crochet dominated the Yankees. Fans and media alike wanted the same for Fried. The Yankees eventually won the series off the back of Cam Schlittler, who did his best Gerrit Cole impression, but it is funny how quickly a player's narrative can change from start to start. That is the New York way, after all.

Fried on Fried's 2025

Coming off a start with its own ups and downs in Fried's most recent start this spring, he was asked about his season last year. The way Fried answered, one would believe that he had an ERA north of 5, and he didn't live up to a deal that had him eclipsing David Price, as the most exorbitant deal ever received by a left-handed starting pitcher.

"For me as a starting pitcher, it's really important to keep your team in the game and not have any kind of quote, unquote blowup outings," Fried told NJ.com's Randy Miller. "I felt like I had a handful of outings last year where I gave up a lot of runs, and they put us out of the game pretty early on. My goal is to keep us in the game for as long as I'm in it, so I'm just trying to be more consistent when I take the ball."

It's interesting to see Fried's thoughts about himself. Yes, that Toronto start was bad, and a player getting paid as handsomely as that needs to be held to a higher standard than what he delivered. Still, overall, Fried had one of the best introductory seasons by a player since the days when George Steinbrenner ran the Yankees.

Considering that the elder Steinbrenner watched guys like Carl Pavano, Randy Johnson, and Javier Vasquez flounder in the early 2000s, it's likely that he would have loved Fried. He wouldn't have sent him back to his old team first class the way he did with Johnson.

The Reality of Fried's 2025

By Fried's standards, he had more blowup starts than he was comfortable with. Was it as much as the ace is letting on, though?

Just giving a glance at his game log, Fried made 32 starts. He went 19-5, pitching to a 2.86 ERA and 3.07 FIP. That's about as elite as they come, and physically, he threw as hard as he ever threw. His 95.8 MPH average fastball velo was a career high.

Of those 32 starts with the Yankees, Fried allowed four or more runs six times, not counting the postseason. In those six starts, he eclipsed five innings each time.

If Fried ever sat down with a therapist to talk about his season, it's fair to say they would tell him to be kinder to himself. Granted, as far as keeping that competitive edge he has and his drive to be better, the same mindset that has him hard on himself is what makes Fried great.

A competitive edge like that is how guys like Fried compete at an elite level and get paid the big bucks that they do. It isn't a healthy way to live, but that's something he may have to deal with personally. If anything, happiness can come after a World Series win.

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