MLB contract grades: Yankees pounce on Max Fried after Juan Soto whiff

Max Fried, you are a member of the New York Yankees!

Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman were left holding a $760 million check after coming up empty in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. In the wake of that move, though, the Yankees absolutely had to respond with some big moves of their own, especially on the heels of last year's World Series appearance. Now, two days after the Soto signing with the crosstown Mets, they land a big fish with the former Braves ace.

ESPN insider Jeff Passan broke the news on Tuesday, reporting that the Yankees had signed Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract.

Was this the right move for the Yankees to make and is this the right deal to hand out? Let's dive into it as we grade the contract and unpack some of the nuances.

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Grading the Max Fried contract for the New York Yankees

Steinbrenner and Cashman absolutely had to respond and they did with aplomb on this deal, landing a legitimate ace and creating a lethal 1-2 punch with him and Cole atop the rotation. Make no mistake, it's a great move, but one that I ultimately shy away from giving the Yankees full "A+" marks from.

Make no mistake, this is a monstrous win for the Yankees, especially considering that the rival Red Sox were also involved. And the caliber of pitcher they're adding with the former Brave can't be ignored. Left-handed veterans who have a career 3.07 ERA and 1.164 WHIP over 884.1 innings since 2017 don't grow on trees. Even better, Fried has posted a 2.81 ERA and 1.093 WHIP since 2020, even with injuries limiting him to only 14 starts in the 2023 campaign.

Having said that, Fried still might not be the most ideal fit for the Yankees. To be clear, I'm not disparaging the signing in the slightest because New York responded with a haymaker and now has another star on the roster. And Fried almost certainly will help to keep the Pinstripes in the driver's seat in the AL East.

At the same time, though, the Yankees defense was a pressure point for this club throughout the 2024 season and all the way through a World Series loss. Fried is a groundball pitcher with only an 8.5 K/9 rate since 2020. Are you sure that his efforts are going to be maximized with a shaky defensive effort behind him? That's at least something that's worth considering.

More than that, Fried will be 31 years old by Opening Day for the 2025 season. One of the biggest appeals of a star like Soto was the youth infusion he could provide a roster that not-so-sneakily scarce when it comes to elite young pieces right now. Fried doesn't necessarily do a whole lot to help in that capacity either.

Having said all of that, I'm fully aware that's just nitpicking, even if that should absolutely be part of the conversation (as it would've been had he landed in Boston as well, at least in terms of the defense). It's still a tremendous blockbuster move by the Yankees that they absolutely needed to make. And now that this domino has fallen, the moves it now leads to for New York could make the Fried signing age even better.

Grade: A-