Fried shines again while prepping to take larger load for Yanks in '25

LAKELAND, Fla. -- This is right around the time of spring when the topic of who will be named Opening Day starter bubbles up around camps. For some teams who have an established ace, the answer as to who gets the ball that day is obvious. For others who might have a couple of candidates worthy of the honor, all it takes is an ability to count to five; whichever pitcher is on track to land on March 27 on an every-fifth-day pitching schedule is the sure choice for the opener.

In Yankees camp, original plans were scrapped when Gerrit Cole was declared sidelined for all of 2025, following Tommy John surgery earlier this week. Initially, it was assumed -- incorrectly -- that lefty Max Fried, the Yankees¡¯ prize offseason acquisition, will get the ball when New York opens with the Brewers in exactly two weeks.

But it¡¯s more realistic to expect to see Carlos Rod¨®n get that start; he¡¯s pitching Saturday against the Rays, and if the Yankees work in an extra day of rest twice between now and Opening Day, Rod¨®n will be on track and on schedule for March 27, with Fried getting the ball for the second game on March 29.

¡°I¡¯ll have it for you tomorrow,¡± manager Aaron Boone said when asked about the rotation order before the Yankees¡¯ 8-6 win over the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla., on Thursday.

The start of a season brings with it a heavy dose of pageantry, which is where the importance of naming an Opening Day starter comes in. That news cycle doesn¡¯t last long, though, and it eventually becomes a matter of not who takes the ball for one day, but who¡¯s equipped to do it approximately 34 times (or more) over the course of the regular season. And Fried, who signed an eight-year contract worth $218 million last December, is on track to do just that, which is good news for a team that lost so much depth to injury this spring.

Working with catcher Austin Wells for the first time on Thursday, Fried mostly breezed through his 57-pitch outing against a Tigers lineup that largely resembled the one they¡¯ll open the season with. He was nearly perfect, aside from a Gleyber Torres solo homer in the first inning. Fried retired the remaining 11 batters he faced, threw five or six more pitches in the bullpen after exiting the game to push him over the 60-pitch threshold and seems to be exactly where he needs to be this time of the spring with two weeks remaining until the season starts.

¡°His stuff was good,¡± Boone said. ¡°I think all his pitches are doing what he wanted them to do, all the way to the last pitch of the day. The changeup with a punch was excellent.¡±

You¡¯ll never hear anyone involved with baseball complain that Spring Training isn¡¯t long enough, and at this point, about a month after camps first opened, most everyone is ready to get the real schedule going. But starting pitchers have to still be methodical, and while there¡¯s no concrete demarcation between the period when they¡¯re starting to ramp up and when they¡¯re eyeing the regular season barreling down on them, the middle of March is usually when it¡¯s safe to start shifting the focus away from Spring Training and eye games that count in the standings.

¡°I don't think it's very much like a hard line, as far as, ¡®Now, today is the day that we start doing that,¡¯¡± Fried said. ¡°I think it's a gradual build-up. The beginning of spring you sort of work on stuff, [now it¡¯s] how much you can really integrate into what you do out there.¡±

Injuries are taking a toll on the Yankees¡¯ depth, but nonetheless, the rotation picture is starting to come into focus. Marcus Stroman, who came to camp with no guarantees of nabbing a starting role, is now the best bet to slide into the third spot behind Fried, while Clarke Schmidt, who¡¯s a little behind after a delayed start to the spring, will factor into the back of the rotation.

As for where exactly he fits in, Fried, a veteran who finished in the top five in Cy Young voting twice during his eight years with the Braves, is unconcerned about how this will all shake out.

¡°I haven't heard much, but to me, it's not a big deal,¡± he said. ¡°Whenever they tell me to pitch, I'll be ready to go.¡±