New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried turned in a sparkling outing as he continues to ramp up for the regular season, shutting the Boston Red Sox out over 4.1 innings with three strikeouts. After the game, which ended in a 4-4 tie, Red Sox manager Alex Cora had plenty to say about the Yankees’ biggest offseason acquisition.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Cora said, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “He comes from an organization [where] that’s what they do, right? They pitch. It was good to talk to him and understand what drives him and how he operates on the mound. He knew what he was talking about, because he mentioned our defense.”
It was Fried’s third start of the spring, and he has now pitched 10.2 innings and given up only three runs on five hits with one walk.
Fried came up with the Atlanta Braves, where he spent the first eight years of his career. He signed an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees over the offseason after also considering the Red Sox and other teams.
Max Fried had a ‘gut’ feeling about signing with the Yankees over the Red Sox
Fried got his first taste of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry on Tuesday, but he could have just as easily gotten it from the opposite perspective. The Red Sox and Texas Rangers both reportedly offered him seven years and $190 million. His final decision is believed to have come down to the Red Sox and Yankees.
“Everyone that I talked to was really great,” Fried said, per Hoch. “At the end of the day, I don’t know if I could really put my finger on it. It was just more of a gut feeling. I felt like this was the right place for me.”
As Cora continued to praise Fried, he opened up more about what he discussed with the pitcher during the free agent process.
“It’s a guy that you’re going to put the ball in play, so you have to play defense behind him. We actually told him, ‘We’re going to be better defensively.’ [The deal] just didn’t happen, but he’s a good kid that got rewarded. He’s been on the big stage, and he’s been successful. So they’ve got a good one.”
The Red Sox won’t face the Yankees in the regular season until June 6 to 8 when they visit Yankee Stadium for a weekend series.
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