ATLANTA — Max Fried and the New York Yankees have agreed to a $218 million, eight-year contract, the largest deal for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the agreement, first reported by ESPN, was subject to a successful physical.
New York made the move two days after outfielder Juan Soto left for a pending $765 million, 15-year contract with the rival Mets.
Fried, who turns 31 in January, gets the fourth-highest contract among pitchers behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto ($325 million), the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole ($324 million) and Washington’s Stephen Strasburg ($245 million), who hasn’t pitched since 2022 and has retired. Fried broke the mark for lefties set by David Price at $217 million.
Fried joins a potential rotation that already included Cole, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes and Marcus Stroman.
He was the seventh overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft by the San Diego Padres and was acquired by the Braves in a six-player deal in 2014. He made his MLB debut in 2017 and had his first big season in 2019, finishing 17-6 with a 4.02 ERA.
He was 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, finishing fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting. The three-time Gold Glove winner had his best season in 2022, going 14-7 with a 2.48 ERA.
Fried was 8-1 with a 2.55 ERA in an injury-hampered 2023 season, then was 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA over 29 starts this year.
Fried made the All-Star Game in 2022 and 2024 and he has won three Gold Glove Awards and a Silver Slugger. He was a key part of the Braves’ World Series championship run in 2021.
“Everyone from my teammates here to the coaching staff, front office, organization, fans, city. Obviously don’t know what’s going to happen. But I have absolutely, you know, loved every moment of it and hope to have many more,” he previously said when the Braves’ season ended in the National League Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres.
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