Yankees Ace Turns Down WBC Opportunity With Team USA

Aaron Judge is set to serve as the captain of Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but one of his star New York Yankees teammates won't be joining him on the roster.

According to YES Network's Jack Curry, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa stated that left-handed pitcher Max Fried was offered a spot on the roster but declined that opportunity.

Max Fried was invited to pitch for Team USA by Manager Mark DeRosa. But DeRosa said that Fried declined.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) December 9, 2025

Fried, who was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft and made his big-league debut for the Atlanta Braves in 2017, has never played in the World Baseball Classic.

Fried's First Season in New York

After spending eight years in the majors with the Braves, during which he made two All-Star teams and helped the club win the 2021 World Series while pitching to a 3.07 ERA over 884 1/3 total innings, Fried agreed to an eight-year deal worth $218 million with the Yankees last offseason.

The 31-year-old was everything the Yankees could've asked for and then some in his first campaign with the organization, especially considering ace Gerrit Cole underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in March.

Fried formed one of the best one-two punches across the league with fellow southpaw Carlos Rodón, logging a 2.86 ERA with 189 strikeouts in 195 1/3 innings and earning an All-Star nod in the process. He also won the fourth Gold Glove Award of his career and finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting.

Over his two postseason outings, Fried recorded a 6.75 ERA across 9 1/3 frames as New York bowed out in the ALDS to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Why Fried is So Important to New York

With more time to prepare for the 2026 campaign in spring training assuming he doesn't change his mind or potentially suit up for another country in the WBC, Fried should be fully ready to go for a Yankees rotation that'll desperately need him to begin the year.

Rodón won't pitch in the majors until late April or May after undergoing elbow surgery to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur in October while Cole isn't expected back until May/June, meaning New York will be rather short on true frontline arms to open the season.

With Clarke Schmidt set to miss a majority, if not all, of the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery himself in the summer, Fried's ability to eat innings will certainly come in handy for the Yankees.

New York's other rotation options to begin the campaign include Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough, all of whom threw meaningful innings for the club in 2025 but come with differing levels of concerns and/or question marks at this juncture, making Fried's consistency of the utmost importance.

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