Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves waves to the crowd after coming out of the game during the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Truist Park (Source: Getty)

MLB pitcher Max Fried agreed an eight-year, $218 million deal with the New York Yankees earlier this month but not before informing his close friend and Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito.

The 30-year-old pitcher pitcher become a free agent this winter after spending his entire MLB career with the Atlanta Braves and was pursued by several teams.

On Baseball Isn’t Boring, Giolito revealed that while he did try to bring Fried over to Boston, the former Braves star informed him of his decision before anyone else:

“He gave me a call immediately. Like, before anything went public. I appreciate that he did that for sure, because it’s kind of like finding out things on Twitter or Instagram before your agent calls you or whatever.

It’s a similar type situation. You know at the end of the day, you can’t blame him for his decision. He made the best decision for him, his family. He is going to a great organization so, good for him. There was no talking. You can’t talk someone out of $218 million.”

Max Fried was originally selected by the Houston Atros in the 2012 MLB Draft and spent three years in the minors with them.

He was then traded to the Atlanta Braves, where he made his major league debut in 2017. Since then, he has become one of the best pitchers in the country, winning a World Series, making two All-Star appearances and bagging several individual awards.

Max Fried and Lucas Giolito are former high school teammates who broke into the MLB at around the same time. While they have remained good friends off the field, they have never played on the same team since before turning pros.

Hence, it’s no wonder that Giolito was eager to share the Boston clubhouse with his high school buddy and is appreciative of the heads-up before his friend joined the Yankees.

Max Fried shares his excitement at working alongside Gerrit Cole in the Yankees rotation

Max Fried was presented as a New York Yankees player just days after signing with the club. In his introductory press conference, he expressed his excitement at working together with new teammate Gerrit Cole:

“He’s one of the best pitchers of the generation. He’s had a lot of success. He’s in Cy Young runnings year in, year out. He’s an established superstar in this game, so for me to be able to be in a rotation, be able to pick his brain a little bit, I feel there’s only going to be benefits.”

The Yankees have made several moves to bolster their roster in December, and Fried was one of the big pieces. As we head into the new year, the Yankees are looking like strong competitors in the MLB next year.