Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Had Encouraging Meetings With Pair of Prized Free Agent Starters

The New York Yankees reportedly met with two of the top remaining starting pitchers on the free agent market.

Logan VanDine

Oct 2, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried (54) throws during the first inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Oct 2, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Max Fried (54) throws during the first inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images / Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
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As the New York Yankees wait on superstar outfielder Juan Soto to make his free agency decision, this has not stopped them from pursuing starting pitching help.

Speaking on his ESPN New York radio show on Wednesday, Yankees' play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay announced that the Bronx Bombers met with free agent starting pitcher Max Fried over Zoom for over 90 minutes. Per Kay, the meeting went so well that both sides plan to meet again.

"The Yankees had a 90 minute Zoom call with Max Fried yesterday, and it supposedly went very well.....somebody who's on the Fried side said that Max really, really liked them and apparently they're going to have another meeting as well," Kay said.

Fried spent the first eight seasons of his major league career with the Atlanta Braves and has strung together an impressive résumé. Across 168 appearances (151 starts), the southpaw owns a 3.07 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP and 863 strikeouts in 884.1 career innings. Fried is also a two-time All-Star and was the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award in 2022.

The 30-year-old had another strong season in his walk year for the Braves in 2024. In 29 starts, Fried went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA across 174.1 innings with 166 strikeouts to just 57 walks.

Mike Puma of The New York Post later confirmed this report and also revealed that the Yankees had a separate zoom call with another top free agent starter in Corbin Burnes. Per Puma, the team's meeting with Burnes was said to have went well and the pitcher seems open to joining a big market for the first time in his seven-year big-league career.

Burnes, who won the NL Cy Young Award back in 2021, had a strong first season with the Baltimore Orioles last year, posting a 2.92 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 191.1 innings (32 starts).

The Yankees' current starting rotation consists of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil. The addition of Fried or Burnes would instantly give New York one of the best units in all of baseball and the best 1-2 punch with Cole.

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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work on Yankees and Mets On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports.

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