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Max Fried and the New York Yankees lost on Thursday, so it might not have felt like Fried's best day, and sure, it wasn't.
But he also continues to provide the Yankees with exactly what they need.
The Yanks signed Fried before last season to be a No. 2 starter behind Gerrit Cole. The righty ace hasn't pitched a single regular season game since Fried arrived in the Bronx, though, as Tommy John surgery has kept him out and he still isn't back yet.
That has meant the ace title fell on Fried.
This season, he's also without his usual southpaw peer Carlos Rodon, who has missed the beginning of the campaign with injury, too.
Fried leads MLB in innings so far (33.1), and while that's not the most important pitching stat, it's also crucial in this setup. With the Yankees missing so much productivity on the mound, Fried has made sure they can count on him.
"Coming off a season in which he tied for fourth in the big leagues with a career-high 195 1/3 innings pitched, Fried has remained the Yankees’ workhorse," MLB.com wrote as part of a new article on Friday. "It’s a role they’ve needed him to fill with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón working their way back from injuries. Excluding his injury-marred 2023 season and shortened 2020 campaign, Fried has worked at least 165 innings each year since 2019. His 403 innings since the beginning of 2024 are the fourth most in baseball."
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Of course, the Yankees want Fried to be effective, too, and he usually is.
But even on a day like Thursday, when it was quite clear Fried didn't have his best stuff, he grinded until he simply couldn't go any longer.
Every staff can use a guy like Fried, who is both talented but also is motivated to pitch deep into games. It helps the whole team out in the long run.
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