thelesterlee
The New York Yankees 2025 season ended in Spring Training following the injuries of starting pitchers Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil.
Gerrit Cole was the 2023 Cy Young winner. He threw 12.2 innings in the 2024 World Series, holding the Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star-stuffed lineup to just 1 earned run.
Luis Gil was named the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year. Gil didn’t have the greatest showing in the postseason but it was his first look at high-leverage play and I convinced myself he licked his wounds and was ready for the best season of his life.
Both gone.
The Yankees went from painting over Marcus Stroman’s parking spot to giving him his own office upstairs. desperate for anyone to start some games for them.
New York was about to ask Aaron Judge if he could hit 80 homers this year, chasing the runs their starters inevitably gave up in the first inning.
But a savior emerged.
Enter Max Fried.
Max Fried, Gorgeous 3 Pitch K Sequence. 😍
All Curveballs. pic.twitter.com/Qa4m7n1X7P
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 16, 2025
The Yankees have won all 4 of Max Fried’s starts so far this season—establishing Fried as the clear Ace of this pitching staff.
In Detroit, Fried threw 7 scoreless innings, striking out 11 batters and walking none of them. On Tuesday night, Fried earned his 3 consecutive win of the season—striking out 7 Royals and allowing only 2 runs as the Yankees went on to win 4-2, as they continue to lead the pack in the AL East.
To understand the importance of Max Fried’s excellence, you have to look at how awful his coworkers are.
Carlos Rodon and 38-year-old Carlos Carassco are tied for the 2nd most home runs allowed this season. They’ve given up 10 homers total. San Francisco Giants infielder, Jung Hoo Lee, turned into Barry Bonds against Rodon—hitting 2 bombs into outer space over the weekend.
Rodon leads the American League with 12 bases on balls.
In that same Giants series, Marcus Stroman couldn’t even survive one fucking inning—giving up 5 hits (including a homer), walking 3 batters and allowing 5 earned runs. Couldn’t get 3 outs before he limped off, feigning some knee injury as an excuse for lobbing balloons down the middle of the plate.
(I should add, I’m sure Stroman’s knee actually does hurt after throwing his ass off, trying with his whole body, to GET OUT OF THE FIRST INNING.)
The Yankees locked up Max Fried to an 8-year, $218 million contract.
We didn’t know it at the time but that signing changed the entire 2025 MLB season. New York has a guy in their rotation that gives them an automatic W every 5 days.
We are witnessing the beginnings of what could be one of the greatest seasons in recent history. MLB should start etching Fried’s name into the AL Cy Young trophy.
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