Max Fried signing gives Yankees Brian Cashman pitching depth to deal from
DALLAS — Brian Cashman declined to speak publicly about Max Fried, who agreed to a contract with the Yankees on Tuesday but had not yet officially passed his physical.On Wednesday morning the Yankees general manager sidestepped queries about Fried because he had not yet signed his contract. When Fried does ink his eight-year, $218 million pact, the Yankees will have seven capable starting pitchers under contract.
Cashman acknowledged that teams have been approaching him about what has become an area of depth. “If there are [trade] matches that make sense, then you start to seriously consider it,” Cashman said at the Winter Meetings on Wednesday. Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon (entering Year 3 of a six-year, $162 million deal) are not going anywhere.Nestor Cortes, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman have become possible trade chips. Cortes is entering his walk year and will command around $8 million next season, which is a bargain, particularly in a market that is paying top dollar for starting pitchers.
Schmidt, who is under team control through the 2027 season, and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Gil would be enticing if put on the block.Stroman, who is due $18 million next season, could fetch some interest after a disappointing season that nonetheless ended with a decent 4.31 ERA. Cashman argued that the rotation is “already a strength without any imports” and cited minor league arms, too, such as prospect Chase Hampton, whose 2024 was largely lost to injury.
His point: They could have traded from this depth even before landing Fried. The Yankees had met with Fried during a recent Zoom meeting and came away impressed with the pitcher and person.Manager Aaron Boone called him “one of the game’s really good pitchers” and was especially excited about the athleticism of the lefty, who has a great pickoff move and three Gold Gloves. “The No.
1 thing when you get on the bump is how good a pitcher you are,” Boone said of Fried, ...