Did Yankees use Max Fried as a shield to throw thinly-veiled haymakers at Juan Soto?

The New York Yankees introduced Max Fried to the media on Wednesday afternoon at his first press conference as a member of the team. Fried signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees at the MLB Winter Meetings.

Fried has the lowest ERA in baseball over the past five years, and is a pitcher who induces a lot of ground balls. Assuming the Yankees infield defense can hold up (a big ask, if you watched the World Series), Fried will prove to be a solid No. 2 starting pitcher behind Gerrit Cole.

“When the Yankees say they’re interested in you, you perk up and you listen,” Fried said Wednesday. “There’s a standard and it’s an extremely storied franchise. I was excited to hop on a call and be able to talk with the group up here. I just felt like a lot of values — what we value and the end goal was fairly similar and it was just very down to earth, easy to talk to and I felt comfortable. … when it came down to it, it just felt right.”

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Did the Yankees take a shot at Juan Soto during Max Fried's press conference?

A freshly-shaven Fried said all the right things, even if it'll take baseball fans some time to get used to his new look in pinstripes. While Fried's intro went as expected, there were a few moments during the press conference that gave media members pause. Let's start with the obvious.

First, Cashman made sure to reference how badly Fried wanted to be Yankee. While he didn't reference Soto directly, you can read the tea leaves.

Cashman is absolutely right, and that comment as a standalone is merely praising Fried. However, given recent events, there's a reason Cashman was so relieved to sign a player who actually wanted to be a Yankee, rather than another star looking for the most money.

Another common theme about Soto's tenure with the Yankees that has come to light since he signed elsewhere was highlighted on Wednesday. Soto was (reportedly) upset with how the Yankees treated several members of his family. In one viral incident, Soto was perplexed why his friends and family couldn't get a free suite at Yankee Stadium.

Well, just in case there was any doubt the Yankees aren't a family-first franchise, here is how they greeted Fried's family.

Now, the Yankees presenting a new free agent signing's wife and family with flowers is nothing new. If anything, it's a reminder to Soto and the rest of baseball what the Yankees stand for. That reputation cannot be tarnished by Soto, or those in his inner circle upset after his lone season in the Bronx.

Verdict: No, the Yankees didn't purposely take shots at Juan Soto

As much as I wish I had evidence to the contrary, the only evidence we have is circumstantial. Cashman and the Yankees are petty enough to take shots at Soto, don't get me wrong. However, doing so at another player's press conference borders on trashy. The Yankees front office isn't that dumb, right?