Fastball

Toronto Blue Jays Never Made an Official Offer to Ace Lefty Max Fried

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Toronto Blue Jays never made a formal contract offer to the lefty before he signed with the New York Yankees.

Brady Farkas

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried (54) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at TD Ballpark in 2020.
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Max Fried (54) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at TD Ballpark in 2020. / Kim Klement-Imagn Images
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On Tuesday, left-handed pitcher Max Fried came to agreement on a massive eight-year contract with the New York Yankees. The deal will total $218 million and is the largest guaranteed contract in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher.

Fried was desired by many teams in free agency, with the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays all interested.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Blue Jays never issued a formal offer though.

The Blue Jays never made an offer. The Red Sox were at seven years at $190 million with a willingness to perhaps go up, but also a plan to include deferrals.

The Blue Jays were left at the altar by Juan Soto and now didn't even get a real chance to go after Fried, which continues a trend in recent years where the Jays have been unable to close on big names.

While that's disappointing, the Jays don't need Fried as much as they needed Soto. They already have five capable pitchers with Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodriguez. Signing Fried, or anyone else, would be a luxury that could allow them to push Rodriguez to the bullpen, but it's not a necessity.

The Blue Jays do remain in the hunt for former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, who they have already had an in-person meeting with, but it's unknown if any formal contract offers have been exchanged on that front.

Toronto finished last in the American League East at 74-88 this past season.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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