When you spend $218 million on someone, you want to get back what you paid for.
The New York Yankees gave that money to starting pitcher Max Fried to pitch for them for the next eight years. Though we’re not yet a quarter of the way through year one, that looks like a sound investment.
Fried has been nails for New York, and he tossed yet another gem on Friday night. The lefty went seven shutout innings in the Yankees’ 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing just one hit and dropping his season ERA to 1.01, the second-best in Major League Baseball.
After losing Gerrit Cole for the season, it’s impossible to overstate how meaningful Fried has been to the Yankees. And after his latest virtuoso performance, his manager had high praise for him.
“He’s just so versatile out there,” Yankee skipper Aaron Boone said after the shutout, per Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post.
Fried was carving up the Rays with a seven-pitch mix, and the variety in his arsenal is truly staggering. He can scale it back to 71 miles per hour on a loopy curveball or blow a fastball past a hitter at 97.
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“Just the different ways he can beat you,” Boone continued. “Some of the innings he’s ripping off some good breaking balls, the other he’s adding and subtracting on his heater.”
Fried is 31 now, and he had some aches and pains across his last two seasons with the Atlanta Braves. He’s been great throughout his career, but there was some concern that the eight-year contract wouldn’t age well.
But those concerns can wait for a later date when Fried is pitching lights-out like this. He’s on track for Cy Young consideration, and he’s one of the biggest reasons the banged-up Yankees are in first place.
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