FRIED INCHING CLOSER TO YANKEELAND

The Yankees have officially entered the courting stage with lefty ace Max Fried, holding what insiders described as a “90-minute meeting” this week. (Ninety minutes? That's practically a first date and dessert.) The scoop, broken by the YES Network’s Michael Kay, reveals that things went well—because why wouldn’t they? The Yankees brought their A-team: GM Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, pitching coach Matt Blake, and a small army of front-office folks. What’s next, serenading Fried with “New York, New York”?

According to Kay, “someone on the Fried side” (translation: Fried’s BFF or his agent with a thesaurus) said the pitcher “really, really” liked the Yankees. That’s two “reallys,” people—serious business. A second meeting is already in the works. Will it include roses? A PowerPoint of their 27 World Series championships? Maybe just a sneak peek of how great Fried will look in pinstripes standing next to Gerrit Cole.

In case you’ve been living under a rock—or worse, a Mets fan—Max Fried, 30, is a legit stud. He’s spent eight glorious seasons with the Braves, rocking a career 3.07 ERA and 73 wins. The guy’s a two-time All-Star and was this close to snagging the NL Cy Young in 2022. Basically, he’s the prom king of the free-agent pitching pool.

Last season, Fried put up a cool 3.25 ERA across 29 starts, racking up 166 strikeouts in 174 1/3 innings. That marked his fifth straight year with an ERA south of 3.50. Translation: He’s consistent, unlike your Wi-Fi or the Yankees' offense in October.

Here’s the thing: Adding Fried would give the Yankees a rotation so dominant it might actually silence the boo-birds in the Bronx. Pairing him with Gerrit Cole? That’s a one-two punch worthy of its own Marvel movie.

But let’s not forget, this is the Yankees we’re talking about—the same team that went “Ooh, shiny!” and grabbed Juan Soto last year instead of addressing their starting pitching. Remember when they signed Marcus Stroman and tried to convince us they’d solved their rotation woes? Yeah, that worked about as well as Boone’s decision-making with the bullpen.

It’s too soon to say, but if the Yankees can woo Fried with promises of October glory and maybe a lifetime supply of New York bagels, this could be the start of something beautiful.

For now, I guess we stay tuned.