Left-hander Max Fried has been beyond special for a New York Yankees team that needed any semblance of a lift it could muster in the wake of Gerrit Cole's season-ending surgery. The Yankees were hoping for someone who could mimic the work of a left-handed co-ace after Carlos Rodón's spotty first two years, and they received a Cy Young candidate, elite stopper and pickoff artist in exchange.
And it only cost them the 136th overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft (and a boatload of money, but who's counting?).
A fourth-round compensation pick in this weekend's draft will head to Atlanta to officially finalize the December signing.