TAMPA – When the high-priced left-handed free-agent starter pitched his first game during spring training, Carlos Rodon was ravaged by the Braves, leaving him missing most of the first half with forearm tension.
On Monday, Max Freed showed he wanted to see the Yankees' biggest free agent contract at the 31 year old when they gave the left-handed starter of history this past offseason.
He threw four curveballs in 2¹/₃ innings on a 49-pitch outing in Pittsburgh's 12-3 Grapefruitreug victory at Stein Brenner Field, a 49-pitch outing, but was sharp as he worked on the other aspects of Arsenal on 7 pitches.
“It was good to have the real game vibes with the spikes,” Freed said. “New places, new environments, new teams, new people behind me. It's definitely a little kick of adrenaline.”
As a result, he hit a characterless 97 mph while sitting normally around 93.
Perhaps the most important part of the franchise's offseason pivot will be in the spotlight during an eight-year, $218 million trading period, following Juan Soto's loss to the Mets.
As much as the Yankees rely on new additions like Cordy Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt to solidify their Sotres lineup, they rely on to bolster their rotations that worked well last year, but they hit with Luis Gil's loss for LAT strain until at least June.
Even before Gil, the American League rookie of the year, Freed considered him part of the 1-2 combination at the top of his rotation with Gerit Cole.
This year, especially after spending the first eight years of his major league career in Atlanta, all eyes are stoked to see how he adjusts to pitching in New York.
He's coming out from another great season with the Braves, but like he did in 2023, Fried dealt with his forearm issues a year ago and was on the 15-day injury list in July.
In 2023 he was in Illinois 60 days, limited to 77²/₃ innings and a rough outing in the playoffs.
However, he saw a 96 mph four-seamer on the first corner, finishing the top of the first corner, and everything seemed to be on track on Monday as Emmanuel Valdes rocked with a 77 mph curveball and finished his final inning.
Before the game, Aaron Boone repeated how impressed he was with Freed's mentality.
He expects the same from him on the mound.
Boone said, “How attractive he is and how he leaned down on being here. He's really invested in getting to know his teammates and organization. He's a sponge and open to many different things. He's coachable. You can say he's really excited to be here.”
However, his results on Monday were encouraging as the Yankees didn't bring free to New York just to be a good teammate.
“His one was really good,” Boone said after going out. “He flashed everything a little.”
That's something that Rodon couldn't be said often in his first season in the Bronx, and while he still hopes he can change the Yankees' career, the Yankees will prefer a deep-frying run.
