The New York Yankees had quite an eventful offseason. They lost the Juan Soto sweepstakes to the crosstown New York Mets but kept adding after that. With Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams, and Paul Goldschmidt in town, they are ready to defend their AL crown. But starting pitcher Max Fried is their biggest addition and says he is already learning from Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.

“You're talking about one of the best pitchers we've had over the last ten or so years. He has a Cy Young and seems to be in that conversation of ‘Best Pitchers in the World' year in and year out.”

Fried continues, “He knows exactly what he needs to do to be successful and he's extremely knowledgable and talented. So to be able to sit and watch him work his routine, the way he goes about his preparation and everything, I'm going to do as much as I can to soak up as much as I can.”

Cole won the Cy Young in 2023, an otherwise lost year for the Yankees. He missed the beginning of 2024 with an elbow injury that healed in time for a solid second half and postseason. Fried is a World Series champion hoping to bring his veteran knowledge to the Yankees.

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New York Yankees pitcher Max Fried (54) participates in spring training workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
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Fried signed the richest contract ever given to a left-handed starter to join the Yankees this offseason. At $218 million, he was the most expensive player New York signed this offseason, as they followed a quantity-over-quality approach after losing Soto. And that is not to say Fried is a low-quality pitcher, as his stats prove he is one of the top lefties in the game.

Devin Williams came in a trade that sent Nestor Cortes Jr and Caleb Durbin to the Milwaukee Brewers. He has been one of the top relievers in baseball for multiple years but had playoff struggles. Matt Blake and the Yankees pitching staff have their work cut out for them when Williams takes the mound in October.

In other Yankees pitching news, Marcus Stroman has not reported to training camp outside of his mandated physical. He is not required to practice until February 22 but his absence is noteworthy. There has been some trade buzz around the righty starter and the absence should only turn up the volume.

As the Yankees begin spring training, their aces are learning from each other and the pitching staff is coming together for a season of high expectations.