MLB analysts compare Max Fried’s Yankees debut to CC Sabathia’s title run as he steps into Gerrit Cole’s rotation spot

Having signed an eight-year, $218 million deal to join the Yankees in December 2024, Max Fried had plenty of expectations to live up to as he made his way to the most decorated team in the majors.

Fast forward to the final month of the 2025 regular season, and it's safe to say Fried has delivered on those sky-high expectations so far. At the moment, the southpaw boasts an 18-5 record, along with a 2.92 ERA and 182 strikeouts, having also earned his third career All-Star selection earlier this year.

On Saturday's episode of "Foul Territory", analyst Erik Kratz contextualized just how important Fried's signing has proven for the Yankees, looking at how he has filled in for ace Gerrit Cole, who has missed the entirety of the season due to Tommy John surgery.

"When you go out to sign a guy like Max Fried, you're like 'woah'. Can you imagine, game one [of a playoff series] Gerrit Cole, Fried game two, Carlos Rodon game three, Luis Gil game four. Cole goes down. Gil's been down. So, it's not what they thought the Yankees rotation would look like, so that's how important the Max Fried signing was."

Further, Kratz drew similarities between Fried's first season, and Hall of Famer CC Sabathia's historic first season in Yankees colors back in 2009.

"I'm going to go back to 2009, the last time the Yankees won the World Series. The Yankees won the World Series the first year they signed CC Sabathia, he was the best available on the market [that year]. They signed Max Fried, the best available pitcher, and he is having that type of year, that CC had," Kratz added [1:24]

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Max Fried pitched his latest gem in near-perfect outing at Camden Yards on Thursday

For pretty much the entirety of the season so far, Max Fried has shown time and time again that he is the Yankees' most reliable starting pitcher. Fried once again demonstrated his quality on Thursday, as the Yankees headed to Camden Yards to take on the Baltimore Orioles.

Pitching seven innings, Fried allowed only three hits and zero earned runs, while striking out 13 batters in the process. The 31-year-old's gem helped his team cruise to an extremely comfortable 7-0 victory.

Set to shoulder a lot of responsibility for the Yankees' potential success in the playoffs, fans will be extremely pleased to see their stand-in ace firing on all cylinders heading into October.

Edited by Raghav Mehta