The New York Yankees are doing their due diligence on the market this winter, searching everywhere to upgrade their roster. Whether the Yankees sign Juan Soto or not, there are expected to be a few new faces in the Bronx in 2025.
While signing Soto would likely impact the other moves the Yankees could make, there’s a scenario where they decide to spend more even if they land him. If they’re willing to give Soto $600-plus million, what’s another $100-plus million at that point?
They have rumored interest in left-hander Max Fried, a starter Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicted would sign a seven-year, $175 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
When healthy, Max Fried has been one of the best pitchers in baseball the past several seasons for the Atlanta Braves, and after dealing with some arm issues in 2023 he tallied 29 starts and 174.1 innings pitched in his contract year.
“Aaron Nola signed a seven-year, $172 million extension with the Philadelphia Phillies at the same age last winter, and while Nola has been more consistent and durable throughout his career, Fried is the second-best arm on the market right now and is capable of ace-caliber production,” Reuter wrote on December 5. “The Blue Jays were ready to break the bank for Shohei Ohtani last winter, and they will be motivated to convince free-agent-to-be Vladimir Guerrero Jr. they are serious about contending.”
Yankees Met With Fried
The New York Yankees met with Fried and had a productive 90-minute Zoom call. Fried’s potential price of $175 million could be a challenge for the Yankees to pay, but there seems to be heavy interest in signing him.
According to Yankees announcer Michael Kay, people on Fried’s side “said that Max really liked them.”
