The New York Yankees quickly turned to Plan B this week after seeing Juan Soto leave the New York Mets on Sunday, signing former Atlanta Braves lefty Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal to help anchor the Yankees rotation for the better part of a decade.
He was one of the biggest starters on the market and had multiple teams clamoring for his services, but one surprising team reportedly emerged as an aggressive candidate to sign Fried before the Yankees finalized the deal.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale shared on Wednesday X morning that the Athletics were “one of the most aggressive teams in Max Fried’s pitches” before he signed with the Yankees.
Believe it or not, one of the most aggressive teams in Max Fried’s draft was the Athletics before he signed his 8-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 11, 2024
That’s shocking news considering how cheap the A’s have been over the years, but it bodes well for the team’s future.
Maybe they are finally ready to push the envelope and spend some money.
The A’s made a splash when they recently signed free agent Luis Severino to a 3-year, $67 million contract, the largest contract by the A’s in their history.
Baseball is better off if every team tries to spend to compete instead of sitting back and watching big market teams consistently rip off smaller markets.
The sport is much better if the athletics turn around before moving to Las Vegas.
Moneyball is dead, and we’ll see if the A’s continue to make some noise in free agency this month.
NEXT: Brian Cashman spoke to Juan Soto about the “fake” news
