Rosenthal: How Max Fried has turned into a different pitcher with the Yankees, plus more MLB notes

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It’s almost as if Max Fried is a different pitcher. By design.

What impressed New York Yankees coach Matt Blake most about the left-hander, from the first time they spoke via Zoom during free agency, was his openness to new ideas.

The number of adjustments the Yankees suggested to Fried might be perceived as excessive for a successful pitcher joining a new organization on an eight-year, $218 million contract. But Fried, according to Blake, essentially said, “Keep going. What do you got? Keep giving it to me.”

The Yankees gave Fried the information. Fried, 31, implemented it to maximum effect. And his major-league leading 1.05 ERA represents Fried’s best eight-start stretch in a single season.

Fried throws seven pitches in all, and Blake said he has improved many of them on the margins. For insight into how he has changed, I asked The Athletic’s Eno Sarris what he sees in the data. And man, Eno had plenty to offer:

• Fried’s sinker has four inches more drop, and his usage of the pitch is at a career-high 18.8 percent.
• His curveball and changeup also have more drop even though he is throwing the curveball a mile per hour faster (75.6 mph).
• Fried is throwing his sweeper more to righties than he did in his previous two seasons of usage. Generally, pitchers use sweepers as a weapon against same-side hitters, but they can also be a back-foot option against them.
• And the big one: According to Stuff+, Fried’s mix is the best it has ever been, and his curveball and sinker are the best they’ve ever been.

“Obviously, Atlanta has got a really strong pitching program. But they go about it in a little more traditional way,” Blake said, referring to Fried’s former club.

“He just was interested in exploring some of the data and tech that is available now. That’s what we’ve leaned in towards. Just really understanding how the pitches are moving, why they’re moving, what his body is doing to make those pitches move.

“Combined with what he learned in Atlanta — the game-skill component, understanding hitters, reading swings, understanding how to turn lineups over multiple times — he’s going as deep into the game as anybody right now. Just knowing how he’s going to navigate seven pitches three times through the lineup, sometimes four.”

Fried entered Thursday tied with the Athletics’ Luis Severino for the most batters faced a third and fourth time through the lineup (64). He led the majors with 51 2/3 innings, a 226-inning pace. His career-high, set in 2022, is 185 1/3. In each of the past two seasons, he missed time with forearm issues.

To state the obvious: The Yankees, already down Gerrit Cole for the season, Marcus Stroman until at least later this month and Luis Gil until June or July, cannot afford to lose Fried.

“It’s one of those things we’re always mindful of, especially with where our starting pitching is at and how important he is to us,” Blake said. “It’s a combination of, what did those innings look like? What were the pitch counts to get to those spots?

“He’s been pretty efficient in a lot of innings, other than the first game when he kind of grinded through it a little bit. We’re being mindful of extra rest days here and there, mindful of the throwing program in between. We’ve done a good job of being objective about what his actual workload looks like, not just on game day but his throwing program, his bullpens.”

He is a different pitcher, a better pitcher. The best Max Fried we’ve seen.

The Pirates’ mess (Part 472)

Early on Thursday, I spoke with a head of baseball operations who said that later in the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates might be a difficult opponent.

By then, the executive said, several injured Pirates hitters should be back, and injured right-hander Jared Jones and top prospect Bubba Chandler might be part of the starting rotation.

The Pirates hold much of the same view. But as evidenced by their dismissal of manager Derek Shelton on Thursday, they ran out of patience after starting the season 12-26.

“I don’t think we have to squint too hard to see a better team on the field in 2025,” general manager Ben Cherington said. “I believe we can and will be better on both sides of the ball.

“I’m also not blind to the hole we’ve dug. We’ve had a perfect storm of stuff happening that has contributed to a much more difficult start than we wanted. No way to climb out of it but a pitch at a time.”

The perfect storm to which Cherington referred includes injuries not only to Jones, but also second baseman Nick Gonzales, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, catcher Endy Rodríguez and the team’s biggest offseason acquisition, first baseman Spencer Horwitz.

The Pirates’ health issues, though, are less severe than those of two other small-market NL Central rivals — the Milwaukee Brewers, who already have used 10 starting pitchers, and Cincinnati Reds, whose injured list on Thursday grew to 12 with the addition of ace right-hander Hunter Greene.

The scrutiny, then, will now justifiably turn to Cherington, who is presiding over his sixth straight losing season. At a time when small-market Milwaukee, Cleveland and Tampa Bay routinely field competitive teams, the Pirates’ failures are indefensible.

Everyone in baseball, though, knows the team’s problems start with owner Bob Nutting. As a former player told The Athletic in February 2024, Nutting is “comfortable being mediocre.”

In the news release announcing Shelton’s firing, Nutting said, “We need to act with a sense of urgency and take the steps necessary to fix this now to get back on track as a team and organization.”

A sense of urgency? That’s a good one. Nutting became the club’s principal owner in 2007. The largest free-agent contract in Pirates history remains a three-year, $39 million deal for Francisco Liriano in 2014.

Urgency, thy name is not Bob Nutting.

Defense: The A’s Achilles?

The A’s are 20-18. Their run differential suggests their record should be 17-21. But at this relatively early stage of the season, such extrapolations are misleading.

While the A’s minus-24 run differential is the second worst in the AL West, ahead of only the Los Angeles Angels’ minus-61, three of their losses were by a combined score of 47-6.

Perhaps more telling, seven of the A’s past 14 games have been decided by one run. They are undeniably more competitive than in recent seasons. But to seriously contend, they will need to improve their defense. Through Wednesday, they ranked last in both Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and Outs Above Average (OAA). They remain a work in progress defensively.

Tyler Soderstrom, who moved from first base to left field to accommodate the promotion of first baseman Nick Kurtz, already is comfortable at his new position. Kurtz is a good defender. Jacob Wilson is improved at short. And Luis Urias has stabilized second since replacing the demoted Max Muncy.

At third, Miguel Andujar is not as strong a defender as Gio Urshela, but playing him at that position is the best way to get him in the lineup now that Soderstrom is in left. And perhaps the biggest concern is JJ Bleday, the worst defensive center fielder in the game at his position by OAA and second worst by DRS.

For Braves’ Murphy, this time was different

When catcher Sean Murphy suffered a left rib cage fracture in spring training, the Atlanta Braves were keenly aware that last season, they probably brought him back from a strained left oblique too soon.

Murphy, 30, was never the same after missing nearly the entire first two months and playing only four games on a rehabilitation assignment. He finished with a .193 batting average and .636 OPS, both career lows.

Sean Murphy has sprinted back from injury after suffering a rib cage fracture in spring training. (Brett Davis / Imagn Images)

After his latest injury, the Braves vowed to give Murphy more time to recover. But this time, his rehab assignment was even shorter, lasting only three games.

Normally quiet and reserved, Murphy was adamant when talking to club officials — this was a different injury, he said, a broken bone that healed. His argument proved convincing. And his performance shows he was right.

In 22 games, Murphy is batting only .225, but with seven homers — three shy of his total last season — and an .832 OPS.

Perdomo vs. Lawlar? No, Perdomo and Lawlar

One postscript to the story I published Wednesday about the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Geraldo Perdomo: The Diamondbacks seem not at all concerned that their top prospect, Jordan Lawlar, also is a shortstop.

Lawlar, who turns 23 on July 17, is playing second and third at Triple A in addition to short. Center field also is a long-term possibility. He is highly regarded, ranking 10th in Keith Law’s top 100 prospects. And the Diamondbacks view him as an important part of their future, even after signing Perdomo in February to a four-year, $45 million extension with a club option for 2030.

“I told Jordan that we signed Perdomo because of him,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said. “It wasn’t to block him off. I want them to be together. This will be a very good team with both of those guys on the same team. I’m not necessarily worried about who the shortstop is.”

Perdomo, 25, ranks among the league’s best defensive shortstops, and would appear entrenched at the position. Second baseman Ketel Marte, like Perdomo, is under club control through 2030. But third baseman Eugenio Suárez turns 34 on July 18 and is in the final year of his contract.

One way or another, the Diamondbacks will figure it out.

The Mariners’ surprise move

After an offseason in which they spent a mere $11.25 million in free agency, the Seattle Mariners hardly appeared the obvious choice to claim outfielder Leody Taveras, who was owed about $3.7 million the rest of the season.

Injuries to outfielders Victor Robles and Luke Raley forced the issue, as did Randy Arozarena playing with a sore hamstring. Perhaps Taveras can provide the same type of boost as Robles did after he signed with the Mariners last June following his release by the Washington Nationals. But now the question becomes, will the Mariners still have payroll flexibility to add at the trade deadline?

Only ownership truly knows, but perhaps it’s a positive sign the front office received approval to add Taveras, who is 26 and under club control for two more seasons, assuming the Mariners want to pay his arbitration salaries. One team official, granted anonymity for his candor, said: “We will figure out July in July.”

Red-hot Royals remain short

Kudos to the Kansas City Royals for taking advantage of a relatively soft part of their schedule. The Royals’ 15-2 run includes four wins against the Chicago White Sox, three against Colorado, three against Tampa Bay and two against Baltimore.

The Royals, though, still need offensive help. Before defeating the White Sox on Thursday, 10-0, they ranked 27th in runs per game. And their outfielders ranked 28th in OPS.

Unlike the Mariners, the Royals did not view Taveras as worthy of a claim, according to a source briefed on their thinking. Club officials essentially believed the financial commitment to Taveras would be too great, particularly when it might limit their dollars available at the deadline.

Outfielder John Rave, batting .268 with six homers and an .886 OPS at Triple A, is an internal candidate for promotion.

Around the horn

• More on the Mariners: In each of the past two seasons, their strikeout total was the second highest in the league. Through Wednesday, their rate was the 16th highest, and that was just one sign of their offensive turnaround.

The Mariners also ranked ninth in slugging percentage, fourth in homers and first in walk rate. Only one opposing pitcher had completed seven innings against them: the Houston Astros’ Hayden Wesneski on April 7.

Jorge Polanco, a switch-hitter who only recently resumed batting right-handed after dealing with an issue in his side, has emerged as a stealth MVP candidate. Polanco, who returned to the Mariners on a one-year, $7.75 million free-agent contract, is only 10 appearances shy of qualifying for the league leaders. His 1.103 OPS would rank second only to Aaron Judge.

• More on the A’s: Their resurgence partly is due to their success with recent first-round draft picks: Kurtz (fourth overall, 2024), Wilson (sixth, 2023), Muncy (25th, 2021) and Soderstrom (26th, 2020).

The A’s from 2017 to ’19 failed to produce a major leaguer out of their first rounders, after a run from 2011 to ’16 that included Sonny Gray, Addison Russell, Matt Chapman and AJ Puk.

• How badly do the Houston Astros need Yordan Alvarez to return as soon as possible from a muscle strain in his right hand?

Consider: Every hitter on the Astros’ current roster is right-handed except for the two backup catchers: Victor Caratini, a switch-hitter, and César Salazar, the left-handed hitter who replaced Alvarez.

(Top photo of Max Fried: New York Yankees/Getty Images)

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