Longtime Dodgers Target Max Fried Signs With Yankees, Surpassing Blake Snell’s Contract With LA
Longtime Los Angeles Dodgers target Max Fried has found his next home. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Fried is signing with the New York Yankees on an eight-year, $218 million deal. It is the largest guarantee for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history. It also makes the Dodgers’ five-year, $182 million deal for Blake Snell look that much better.
The Dodgers got ahead of the market by signing Snell before Thanksgiving. At the time, the deal seemed massive. However, as more contracts have come in, Snell’s deal could start to look like a bargain. Fried’s is doing just that.
Fried, who turns 31 in January, is a little more than one year younger than Snell, who turned 32 last week. However, Snell is a much more accomplished pitcher, having won two Cy Young awards — one in 2018 and one in 2023. Fried finished as high as second in Cy Young voting in 2022. He’s also a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove award winner.
Over the course of his eight-year career, Fried has pitched 884.1 innings, sporting a 3.07 ERA with 863 strikeouts. As for Snell, across his nine seasons, he’s thrown 1096.2 innings, sporting a 3.19 ERA with 1,368 strikeouts.
There’s obviously more mileage on Snell’s arm, but he also was arguably the best pitcher in baseball during the second half of last season, sporting a 1.45 ERA over his last 12 starts.
As for Fried, he’s coming off a 2024 season in which he had a 3.25 ERA across 174.1 innings pitched. He’s now signed to the richest contract for a left-handed pitcher in MLB history, and fourth-richest all-time. He has no deferrals and no opt-outs in the deal.
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Yeah, well, Fried’s contract is $27 mil per year, while Snell’s is $36 mil per year. The definition of “most lucrative” is subjective.
No matter how you slice it, the 36.5 million a year is not a bargain for Snell. It is absolutely an overpay. I would rather have Fried’s 8 years at 27 per. Fried, IMO, is the safer choice. Snell will get hurt. The last 2 years are a fluke for the man. My Dodgers overpaid just like with Glasnow. Thankfully, it is only 5 years.
We shall see. I wanted them both on Dodgers Staff…lol
Just like the Soto deal. Ohtani is signed for 70 million for 10 years. Soto is something like 53 million for 15. Of course . Ohtani deferred all but 2 million a year. Soto deferred NONE! I repeat NONE. That tells you all you need to know about Soto and the way he operates. He would have been a horrible signing by the Dodgers. And the Yankees don’t know how lucky they were that fate entered on their behalf. Now that fool Steve Cohen is saddled with the most ridiculous contract in history, but as they say, “A fool and his money are soon parted…”
Simple…Snell wanted to be a World Series Champion and the Dodgers provide the best opportunity of getting that. Fried wanted a bag of money… Snell will get both as long as the Dodgers resign Teoscar Hernandez. Might be tougher if the don’t…