'No one is Gerrit Cole': Yanks to lean on Fried in Cole's absence
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochTAMPA, Fla. -- On the December afternoon Max Fried was formally fitted for pinstripes, the left-hander spoke about looking forward to pairing with Gerrit Cole at the top of the Yankees' rotation, saying that he would be ¡°excited to sit and watch every single one of his starts.¡±
That opportunity won¡¯t come for at least a year, with Cole scheduled to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on Tuesday in Los Angeles. Cole¡¯s absence will increase the spotlight on Fried as he begins his first season with the Yankees, set to make his debut during the season-opening series against the Brewers.
¡°With Gerrit, I really feel for him. It stinks,¡± Fried said. ¡°He¡¯s a competitor and he wants to be out there. He definitely didn¡¯t take this decision lightly. I was really excited to be able to share a dugout and be able to play with him. That will just be delayed a little bit.¡±
With Cole unavailable and reigning American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil also expected to miss at least three months with a right lat strain, Fried heads a rotation that projects to include Carlos Rod¨®n, Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt.
Will Warren, Carlos Carrasco and Allan Winans are among the in-house candidates for the No. 5 spot. Fried, who said he first met Cole during a recruiting visit at UCLA, said he does not feel additional pressure to replicate the righty¡¯s past performance.
¡°At the end of the day, no one is Gerrit Cole, right?¡± Fried said. ¡°I¡¯ve got to take the ball every time that I take the ball. It doesn¡¯t matter if he was on the mound or not. Realistically, it¡¯s just about doing my job. It¡¯s going out there and making sure that, when I take the ball, we have a really good chance to win that day.¡±
Cole¡¯s injury underscores the importance of the Yankees¡¯ winter addition of Fried, who agreed to an eight-year, $218 million contract as the most significant piece of an organizational pivot shortly after Juan Soto opted to sign with the Mets.
The 31-year-old Fried posted a career record of 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA in 168 games (151 starts) over eight seasons with the Braves. A two-time top-five finisher in NL Cy Young Award balloting, Fried ranks third in the Majors in home runs allowed per nine innings (0.8), fifth in ERA, opponents¡¯ slugging (.352) and groundball percentage (54.6%) over that span.
¡°For me, I have to be Max Fried,¡± he said. ¡°I can¡¯t try to fill anyone else¡¯s shoes. I¡¯ve pitched with a lot of really great teammates and stuff like that. I have to know what makes me successful and not try to be someone I¡¯m not.¡±
Fried has made one Grapefruit League start for the Yankees thus far, on March 3 against the Pirates. His next scheduled outing is set for Thursday against the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla.
Though it would seem a natural fit for Fried to grab Cole¡¯s Opening Day nod, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that Fried may ¡°not necessarily¡± line up for the March 27 start against the Brewers. Boone said he expects to decide on his new Opening Day starter within the next several days.
¡°The way I try to see it is, it¡¯s one of hopefully 33 starts,¡± Fried said. ¡°It¡¯s obviously nice to get off to a good start and on the right foot. But it¡¯s one of 33, and if we go where we want to go, hopefully there¡¯s more than that.¡±