TAMPA – In another world, Max Fried could have been on the mound at Stein Brenner Field as the Red Sox on Tuesday, pitching with the Yankees multiple times over the next seven years.
The reality is that the left-hander wore pinstripes and mowed the Red Sox on his penultimate spring outing.
Freed had seen some of the de facto aces the Yankees need to make him this season without Jerit Call.
“They got some good,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said before his 4-4 tie.
Freed represented the Yankees plan B this offseason after losing Juan Soto in free agency.
It took eight years and $228 million to land him. The Red Sox and Rangers also became finalists, adding eighth years to the Yankees to seal the deal.
On Tuesday, Freed said he “definitely considered” the Red Sox after meeting them on Zoom, but signed his decision to sign with the Yankees to “a gut feeling that I felt this was the right place for me.” Of course, the money wasn't hurt either.
However, Kora said the Red Sox liked Freed because of his pitchability, good things and the ability to make adjustments in the game.
“He knows what he's doing,” Cora said. “He comes from the organization [the Braves] That's what they do, right? They pitch. It was good to talk to him and understand what drives him and how he works on the mound. In fact, he mentioned our defense, so he knew what he was talking about. He's a guy who plays the ball, so you have to defend behind him. We actually told him, “We'll be better defensively.” That didn't happen. ”
Instead, the Yankees will have to be sharp and sharp behind the frying, as was clear on Tuesday.
He recorded seven of his 13 outs to the ground while hitting three (two through sinkers).
“That's me – I'm a groundball guy,” Freed said. “So if you can get mostly ground balls and get a little touch, things are going right.”
Sinker is one of six different pitches Fried threw to the Red Sox, part of the reason he's difficult to face.
“Every time I see him, and even when we had to see him in the past few years when we had to see him, it's hard to get him to get a bead,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He does so many things with the ball. The way he sinks it. His four-seamer is not really straight.
“So it's difficult for a batsman to zone in one thing. With the moves he gets, you understand why he puts the ball on the ground and provides a lot of weak contact.”
Freed will have his final spring start against the Rays on Sunday before he begins preparing to face the brewers in his official Yankees debut in the Bronx on March 29th.
For now, Freed enjoyed throwing again to Austin Wells on Tuesday.
And after he threw the 68th final pitch of the day, Freed was taken out of the game by Joe Torre, an unexpected visitor to the mound that only happened in the Yankee Camp.
“It was a surprise, but it was a really cool experience,” Freed said of Torre, who is in town as a guest instructor. “He's obviously one of the legends of the game, so getting out there and handing him over was something the ball was special.”
