Yankees fans must realize important ripple effects of stealing Max Fried from Red Sox

When the New York Yankees went the extra mile during the Winter Meetings to secure Max Fried on an eight-year, $218 million contract, the immediate reaction from most general baseball fans was, "Huh? Eight years?"

Those same people who make fun of the Yankees for ostensibly "overpaying" are the same people calling them cowards when they don't fork over a boatload of cash to land the players that demand it. The reality is that the Yankees, given their position in the market, need to uncomfortably set the bar here and there in order to get what they want. It's just the way it is. Read a book.

Fried's case represented another exception, though. One of the other teams vying for his services was the rival Boston Red Sox, and, at the time, the Yankees were "in the same ballpark" in terms of a contract offer. So what did they do? They said "F--- you" to Craig Breslow and gave Fried another year and ~$30 million to end the conversation and get they player they wanted. Whether you agree or not, that's how it's done.

Imagine if they didn't though? Imagine if they had beat around the bush, lost Fried to Boston, and then lost Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery? For all the pessimistis out there, that would have effectively ended the 2025 season.

In the end, Fried said that his "gut" drew him to the Yankees (and, yeah, we're sure the money helped) and it left the Red Sox scrambling. Boston then pivoted and emptied out a valuable chunk of their farm system to trade for Garrett Crochet, who has only one full season as a starter and just two years of control. All of Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomey, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez were sent to the White Sox. Three of those guys are in Chicago's top 10 prospects for the 2025 season.

Max Fried's "gut" drew him to Yankees - as well as necessary contract overpay

The Red Sox have the best farm in the league, but they certainly had a unique opportunity to hang onto all of that talent, use their money to sign a pitcher (or another desired target), and give themselves more options for the future. The Yankees giving Fried that extra year and money stole a preferred option from their rival, and then forced them to make what some might consider a semi-uncomfortable trade. All it'll take is a slow start from Crochet and a couple of the Sox's top prospects not panning out to set off the panic meter in Boston.

Had this been the other way around, with the Red Sox signing Fried, keeping their prospects, and the Yankees either trading for Crochet or signing a less desirable option, the outlook for 2025 and beyond would've been much different — in fact, it would've been really bleak for New York.

Though this is a results-based business and we won't know how this pans out until we're a few months into the regular season, it's nice to feel good about where the Yankees stand after their offseason splash, and how it seemingly played a considerable role in tipping the AL East scales for the near future.

Red Sox fans can't possibly see that, though. They're now convinced Crochet is the best pitcher on the planet and that Kristian Campbell, despite hitting .158 in spring training, is the Opening Day starting second baseman that was promised. You can't cure delusion.