Max Fried contract breakdown: What to know about Yankees deal, and where lefty ranks among pitchers

Two days after missing out on retaining superstar right fielder Juan Soto, the Yankees pivoted to signing left-handed ace Max Fried. He is heading from Atlanta to the Bronx on an eight-year, $218 million deal, and he will team with Gerrit Cole for a ferocious 1-2 punch in the Yankees rotation. 

Fried didn’t get Soto’s $765 million, but he does end up with one of the most lucrative contracts in MLB history, especially if we isolated pitchers. Here’s a look, by the numbers. 

Contract breakdown

We don’t have an exact year-by-year breakdown just yet and it’s possible the deal is backloaded, but the average annual value (AAV) is $27,250,000. There will be some consternation on the number of years, but that number per season is a bargain for a pitcher with Fried’s proven track record. 

There are reportedly no opt outs or deferred money (via USA Today), and there’s a full no-trade clause (via New York Post). 

Largest total value pitcher contracts in MLB history

Fried’s deal ranks as the fourth-highest ever for a pitcher in terms of total money. Here are the seven contracts that have exceeded $170 million. Possibly of interest: Fried is the highest-ranked lefty on the list. We’re leaving two-way star Shohei Ohtani off of all lists here. 

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, $325 million (12 years with Dodgers)
2. Gerrit Cole, $324 million (nine years with Yankees)
3. Stephen Strasburg, $245 million (nine years with Nationals)
4. Max Fried, $218 million (eight years with Yankees)
5. Jacob deGrom, $185 million (five years with Rangers)
6. Blake Snell, $182 million (five years with Dodgers)
7. Aaron Nola, $172 million (seven years with Phillies)

The only two lefties there are Fried and Snell, who both signed this offseason. 

Largest AAV deals for pitchers in MLB

As noted above, Fried’s average annual value isn’t too bad considering a pitcher of his pedigree. Among current deals only, he checks in at sixth. 

1. Zack Wheeler, Phillies: $42 million
2. Jacob deGrom, Rangers: $37 million
3. Blake Snell, Dodgers: $36.4 million
4. Gerrit Cole, Yankees: $36 million
5. Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers: $27,312,500
6. Max Fried, Yankees: $27.25 million
7. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers: $27,083,333
8. Carlos Rodón, Yankees: $27 million

If we looped in the biggest AAV deals in history, some shorter term deals for Justin Verlander ($43,333,333 for 2023-24) and Max Scherzer ($43,333,333 from 2022-24) would sit tied at the top. Strasburg’s deal had an AAV of $35 million. 

Largest current Yankees contracts 

Again, the Yankees missed out on Soto, but they still have plenty of monster contracts on the roster. Fried’s doesn’t crack the top three but does give them three of the four MLB pitchers with deals of at least $150 million. 

1. Aaron Judge: $360 million (nine years)
2. Giancarlo Stanton: $325 million (13 years)
3. Gerrit Cole: $324 million (nine years)
4. Max Fried: $218 million (eight years)
5. Carlos Rodón: $162 million (six years)