The Yankees wooed Max Fried with a large upfront payment.
The southpaw starter will receive a $20 million signing bonus as part of his deal with the Bronx Bombers, with the $10 million split in two installments, one immediately and next year, according to a Wednesday report by the Post's Joel Sherman. It is said that the amount will be paid.
The big bonus is part of Fried's eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees.
Fried is scheduled to receive $12 million in 2025 and 2026, after which he will earn $29 million annually over the final six seasons of his contract.
The 30-year-old pitcher's contract exceeds David Price's $217 million contract with the Red Sox in 2015 and is the richest contract for a left-handed pitcher in MLB history.
Fried's signing came just days after the Yankees lost superstar Juan Soto to the Mets, which included a huge contract.
Soto was able to get $75 million of the $765 million total paid upfront, saving him nearly $8 million in state taxes.
Blake Snell signed a five-year, $182 million contract with the Dodgers, receiving a signing bonus of $52 million.
Fried and Soto's contracts did not include the kind of deferred money that Snell received from the Dodgers, who have a habit of putting huge amounts of money into the future.
Snell's contract includes $60 million in deferred payments, bringing the franchise's deferred compensation book to nearly $1 billion, far more than any other team in the league.
