The New York Yankees thought they were forming a formidable duo atop their rotation when they signed Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal this offseason, but that will not be the case with Gerrit Cole needing Tommy John surgery and expecting to miss the 2025 season. Fried spoke on that loss and how much he looked forward to pitching in the same rotation as Cole.
“With Gerrit, I really feel for him. It stinks,” Max Fried said, via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “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 bit.”
Now, Fried is the logical option to start on Opening Day for the Yankees, although that is not confirmed yet. Regardless, Fried will take on the role of being the Yankees’ ace this year. Fried said he is not changing anything about his approach as he steps into the role of being the top starter for New York.
“At the end of the day, no one is Gerrit Cole, right?” Fried said, via Hoch. “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.”
The Yankees are dealing with multiple injuries, with Cole and Giancarlo Stanton’s sticking out. The roster is in a bit of an awkward spot with Opening Day approaching. There is still talent on the team, so a successful season is still possible, but there will be questions to answer over the course of the year.
The post Yankees pitcher Max Fried’s honest reaction to devastating Gerrit Cole injury update appeared first on ClutchPoints.
