Gerrit Cole gets real on Max Fried joining forces in the Yankees rotation

Although he exercised his opt-out back at the start of the offseason, New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole ultimately elected to stay in the Bronx, picking back up the four years remaining on his original 10-year deal.

And about a month after Cole decided to stay in New York, the Yankees signed two-time All-Star Max Fried to an eight-year deal, adding another tier to their already stacked rotation. Everyone likes something new, and Cole is excited to have a new hurler in Fried to work alongside him in pinstripes.

Fried was drafted by the San Diego Padres back in 2012 but was traded to the Atlanta Braves in December 2014 as part of the Justin Upton trade. Fried went on to make his Major League debut with the Braves in 2017, the beginning of an eight-year run the left-hander spent working in Atlanta’s pitching staff.

Cole mentioned how he appreciated Fried’s Braves roots, remembering Fried’s connections to pitching legends Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine (via YES Network).

Cole noted that that trio of Atlanta hurlers engrained some of their core principles in Fried, and Cole is eager for Fried to bless the Yankees’ pitching staff with his knowledge. That’s high praise to dish out, but Cole knows what a good pitcher is — and Fried has the resume to back it up.

Over his eight seasons with the Braves, Fried went 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA across 884 1/3 innings. In 168 games (151 starts), the southpaw Fried led the league in complete-game shutouts three times and never posted a WHIP of higher than 1.17. Fried finished in the top five of Cy Young Award voting in two seasons (2020 and 2022) and was an All-Star in 2022 and 2024.

And perhaps more impressive than Fried’s actual performance is his ability to stay on the field. Aside from a forearm strain that sidelined him for almost half of the 2023 season, and the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, Fried has turned in at least 28 starts each year dating back to 2019. This is particularly notable for a Yankees’ staff that has dealt with significant injury woes.

The 34-year-old Cole was limited to just 17 starts last season due to elbow soreness. Cole and Fried’s rotation mate, left-hander Carlos Rodon turned in a full season last year, but he’s no stranger to the injury bug either; Rodon made only 14 starts in 2023.

Baseball is definitely a survival of the healthiest. And if the Yankees’ starters stay healthy, the rest of the American League East is in trouble.