The World Series is set to start Friday night, and the New York Yankees for the 16th time in the last 17 years are not in it.
It was 16 days ago that the Yankees were ousted from the postseason, swept in three games by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series. In the final game, that sealed the Yankees’ fate for another season, starting pitcher Max Fried was one of the reasons the Bronx Bombers lost and went home.
Fried lasted 5 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits including two home runs, but those four runs were one too many as the Yankees fell to the Rays 4-3.
As they look toward 2027, the Yankees still owe Max Fried $174 million. That’s the total remaining on his contract which extends through the 2032 season, according to Spotrac‘s contract breakdown. None of Fried’s Yankees salary is deferred.
After an injury-marred season, Fried’s payroll tab jumps from $14.5 million to $31.5 million in 2027, according to Spotrac.
Fried signed the eight-year, $218 million contract in December 2024, a record for a left-hander that topped David Price’s seven-year deal with the Boston Red Sox by $1 million, according to The Associated Press.
Half of the $20 million signing bonus arrived on Jan. 31, 2025, and the other half on Jan. 31, 2026, according to The Associated Press reporting.
Spotrac lists the full $218 million as guaranteed. “No deferrals. No opt-outs,” wrote USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale.
New York Yankees’ Max Fried Contract Money Owed by Year
Fried collected $22 million in cash payments in each of 2025 and 2026 (a $12 million salary plus a $10 million bonus installment), which puts the Yankees’ actual outlay at $44 million so far, according to Spotrac.
The remaining $174 million comes due at $29 million a year from 2027 through 2032. The balance falls to $145 million after 2027, $116 million after 2028, $87 million after 2029, $58 million after 2030 and $29 million after 2031.
For luxury tax purposes, the deal counts at $27.25 million a year. The payroll charge rises to $31.5 million in 2027 because the $29 million salary replaces the $12 million one, while the bonus stays prorated at $2.5 million annually. Spotrac also lists a full no-trade clause.
Fried’s 2026 Season, Playoffs and Career
Fried went 5-5 with a 2.80 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 20 starts, striking out 104 and walking 33 over 112 2/3 innings in 2026.
Two trips to the injured list for a bone bruise in his pitching elbow cut the workload. Manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that new imaging showed the ligament in Fried’s left elbow in good shape, and he was not expected to have any arm issues in his offseason training program.
In 2025, his first season in pinstripes, Fried went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in 32 starts, striking out 189 over 195 1/3 innings, according to Spotrac. His ERA fell by 0.06 in 2026 and his WHIP by 0.11, while his innings dropped by about 83.
In the postseason, Fried beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series on Sept. 30, allowing one run over six innings. A week later, he took the loss in ALDS Game 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He finished the postseason 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings.
Fried, a Santa Monica, California, native, pitched at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles alongside Jack Flaherty and Lucas Giolito, according to The Associated Press. The San Diego Padres drafted him seventh overall in 2012, and Atlanta acquired him in the 2014 trade that sent Justin Upton to San Diego, according to Spotrac.
He reached the majors with the Braves in 2017 and won the clincher of the 2021 World Series. Adding his 2026 line puts his career record at 97-46 with 1,156 strikeouts.
Fried turns 33 on Jan. 18, with six seasons and $174 million still ahead of him.
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