Dodgers injury news should have Yankees fans giving Brian Cashman credit for once

As of this moment, the New York Yankees' offseason marquee acquisitions have been a mixed bag. Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams haven't been good, but Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt have been incredible.

In the case of Fried, when New York gave him an eight-year, $218 million contract, many outsiders deemed it to be an overpay in terms of years and money, but right now it's been a move that has saved the Yankees in the early going, especially with Gerrit Cole out for the year. Fried is 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. The team has won every time he's taken the mound.

It's hard to get better value than that in the early going, and when you compare it to one of the Yankees' other free agent targets, Brian Cashman is coming out with a massive win right now.

Dating back to the 2023-2024 offseason, Blake Snell had been on the Yankees' radar, but twice in a row, the two sides failed to come to an agreement. The first time around, the Yankees offered him $150 million and he said no. The second time around, Cashman told Scott Boras he couldn't offer his client a contract until the Juan Soto situation was resolved. That delay proved to be costly at the time, as Snell quickly pivoted and signed a $182 million deal with the Dodgers.

But so far, it's not looking good in LA. Snell has only made two starts, has registered -0.2 WAR, and is now shut down from throwing with left shoulder inflammation. He could be scheduled to undergo further testing, too.

Yankees' prioritizing Max Fried over Blake Snell is proving to be elite move

This could always change on a dime, too. Nobody is forgetting Fried's injury history, which is almost as concerning as Snell's, but Snell is biting the dust less than a month into the 2025 season, and had that been the case if he were a Yankee, it would've been disastrous.

But we'll let the jury settle this: would you rather have Fried at eight years and $218 million heading into his age-31 season or Snell at six years and $214 million heading into his age-31 season? If you combine Snell's Dodgers contract with his one-year pact in San Fran last year, that's his total, and it's relevant because he was clearly looking to get closer to the $200 million mark after he turned the Yankees' $150 million offer down.

Though Snell's body of work trumps Fried's, there are some important aspects to point out. Fried has more postseason starts and a World Series ring. He also has one more All-Star nod. But, most notably, ever since Fried's first full season in 2019, he has the same amount of 30+ start campaigns as Snell, whose first full season came in 2016. Fried also has four 25+ start seasons compared to Snell's three.

Perhaps Cashman knew what he was doing here, and the waiting game paid off. There was a lot of offseason outrage here (and plenty that we're guilty of) that should take a back seat.