Max Fried went from being the piece to getting the New York Yankees over the top, to the new kid in town facing a ton of pressure. Much has been made of Fried having to become the Yankees' frontline starter in the wake of Gerrit Cole having to undergo Tommy John surgery. Injuries happen. They are a part of the game in professional sports. However, the Yankees may have overlooked one other thing.
While Fried was courting new teams to play for once he became too expensive to stick with his former employer in the Atlanta Braves, he was very curious in the type of questions he asked. One of the teams he was looking hard at in free agency happened to be the Boston Red Sox. He had conversations with their skipper Alex Cora, who was straight forward with him about their defense.
Cora mentioned this when talking to Chris Cotillo of Mass Live about Fried nearly going to Boston.
“It was good to talk to him and understand what drives him and how he operates on the mound. He knew what he was talking about because he mentioned our defense. It’s a guy who they’re going to put the ball in play (against) so you’re going to have to play defense behind him. We actually told him we’re going to be better defensively."
This is a very big deal. Fried can be a frontline starter at times, but he needs to have great command of his pitches. While he is incredibly athletic, and probably could have made it to the big leagues as an outfielder, he tends to pitch to contact a bit more than you would like. Given that the Yankees are not exactly the best team defensively, this could lead to trouble for the former Braves starting pitcher.
The pressure is on Fried to succeed anyway, but I have a hard time seeing him be as good in 2025.
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New York Yankees need to be much improved on defense for Max Fried
As a former pitcher myself, I pitched to a lot of contact. I did not throw particularly hard, but tried my best to keep the ball low in the zone so I would not give up 400-foot moonshots on the reg. Fried is obviously a better pitcher than anyone I have known or will ever know, but the same sort of concerns remain. We are not looking at a pitcher who is going to clock 100 miles per hour on the radar gun.
This is where Fried got in trouble in Atlanta. While the Braves have a strong defense, Fried could sometimes devolve into a batting practice pitcher. Braves Country saw him unravel at times in the postseason, pretty much every season but the magical 2021 World Series run. He is not as good in the postseason as John Smoltz, nor as bad as Greg Maddux. As a lefty, Fried was like Tom Glavine.
That is an incredibly lofty standard to compare a high-end left-hander to three of the best starting pitchers of their generation, all first-ballot hall of famers. Then again, this is what Fried signed up for to go to New York. It was about the money, but it was also about the opportunity. He was thought to be part of an ensemble cast with Cole in New York. Instead, he probably wishes he was still in Atlanta.
Every additional out the Yankees defense gives away will be a reminder to all what Fried really is.
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