Shocking team was in on Max Fried before the Yankees swooped in with godfather offer

On Sunday, the first big domino to fall in free agency was Juan Soto, who signed a record-breaking deal with the New York Mets. While Monday was a bit more quiet, things really heated up on Tuesday evening. The Yankees, more than a day after losing Soto to the crosstown Mets, signed former Atlanta Braves left-handed starting pitcher Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract.

It's not surprising the Yankees dished out the largest contract for a left-handed pitcher in MLB history. Fried was ranked at the the starting pitching market alongside Corbin Burnes. Besides the Yankees, Fried was also linked to the Boston Red Sox, who have a desperate need for top-tier options in the rotation. But a new team has come to light who was pushing hard to land Fried.

According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the Athletics were "one of the most aggressive teams" in the Fried sweepstakes before the Yankees handed the starting pitcher the $218 million contract. Yes, you read that right. The Athletics.

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Athletics reportedly 'one of the most aggressive teams' in the Max Fried sweepstakes

The Athletics notoriously had one of the league's lowest payrolls under team owner John Fisher, earning the ire of the fanbase. The anger only increased once the team began exploring a relocation bid to Las Vegas, Nev. Now, as soon as the Athletic's depart Oakland, the fanbase is seeing the team try and spend money on top free agents.

Perhaps the most shocking move of the MLB offseason has been the Athletics signing former Mets and Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino to a three-year, $67 million contract. This was a surprise, given that it was more than Severino's market value, and that's it's officially the most lucrative contract the Athletic's have given to a player in franchise history.

Before signing Severino, the Athletics reportedly made a "big offer" to their former starting pitcher Sean Manaea, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Add these with the fact that the Athletics were trying to sign Fried, and you will probably get some frustrated fans. After all, the team traded away their best players and rarely spent money to field a competitive roster.

Ultimately, that didn't matter, as Fried chose to sign with the Yankees, who have much higher expectations heading into the 2025 season. Not to mention, Fried will pair with Gerrit Cole at the top of the rotation on a team with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the batting order.

We'll see if the Athletics will continue being aggressive after losing out on Fried.