Why Is Aaron Boone Going With Max Fried Over Carlos Rodon?

Max Fried might be the one pitcher on the New York Yankees truly capable of shutting down the Tampa Bay Rays.

New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox during game two of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Yankee Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Yankees' 2026 season is on life support. Cam Schlittler was chased out of the fifth inning after a medley of errors cost him the chance to go deep in the game. Now their year comes down to Max Fried Wednesday night in the Bronx after it was widely speculated that Carlos Rodon would take the ball that day once Gerrit Cole pitching in Game One was made official. Aaron Boone made the surprise announcement before Game Two.

Fried is probably the best matchup for the Rays out of anybody on the staff, for the sheer fact that he's a lefty — their kryptonite — and is one of the best groundball pitchers in the league. The Rays have a team OPS of .751 against righties. It's .678 against Southpaws.

As for his ability to pitch to contact, given that the Rays don't strike out all that much, it could play into Fried's favor. It's an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. The Rays' 1,145 strikeouts and 18.8% strikeout rate are the lowest in baseball. Fried, on the other hand, has an 83rd-percentile groundball rate and holds opposing batters to a 29.8% hard-hit rate, a 2.4% barrel rate, and an average exit velocity of 85.9 MPH.

New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) and pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) look on during batting practice prior to game one of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

According to his catcher, Austin Wells, Fried's greatest ability is that he has so many toys to play with in his repertoire.

"He can do anything that he wants, honestly, on the mound," Wells said, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "He's got so many pitches, so much ability to get outs for us. He's going to go out there and do what he does and give us a great chance to win the ballgame."

Sloppy baseball

If Fried attacks the Rays with a medley of pitches and induces an array of ground balls to third, short, and second, the big hope is that the defense behind him does its job. This could be a great matchup until you realize the Yankees are coming off a game where they committed five errors, and, as a result, Schlittler, the team ace, was chased out of the game in the fifth inning.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Jonny DeLuca reaches on an error during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees in game two of the ALDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Tropicana Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The same could happen to Fried if the Yankees play another sloppy brand of baseball. In a lot of ways, it feels like more of an outlier if they end up getting it together because it doesn't matter what year it is. Booting baseballs is how the season ends for this team.

For the Yankees to get the best version of Fried, they need to be better defensively. If not, their season is over and Rodon won't get his chance at redemption.