The New York Yankees have plenty of money.
But they'd certainly prefer to be paying it out in contracts that are worthwhile rather than not.
And in a new article for Bleacher Report, Kerry Miller lists two Yankees contracts that could be a "nightmare" beginning in 2028.
He lists Aaron Judge's deal as eighth-worst on his list, which has more to do with the total money and Judge's unprecedented size and not knowing how it'll age.
Someone is higher than Judge, though: Max Fried.
The Yanks will owe Fried $145 million between 2028 and 2032.
"When the Yankees signed Fried to an eight-year deal less than 48 hours after Juan Soto signed with the Mets, it wasn't the 2025 portion of the contract that made it feel like a panic-driven pivot by the Bronx Bombers," Miller writes. "It was the sheer length of the contract given to a pitcher who A) was already just one month away from turning 31 and B) dealt with forearm strains in both 2023 and 2024."
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Fried was as advertised in 2025. With Gerrit Cole out for the season, Fried successfully held down the ace role in his first season in the Bronx, not an easy thing.
It's probably hard for Yankees fans to view Fried as a potential contract albatross down the line, but it's a real possibility.
"Already, neither his curveball nor his changeup is as devastating as it used to be. His worst xSLG against either pitch in any season from 2020-23 was a.272 mark against the curve in 2020. However, it has been at least.321 against each pitch in each of the past two seasons. (Which, to be clear, is still quite good, but simply not as good.)," Miller writes. "Something to keep an eye on over these next few years. Because with the contracts on both Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón expiring after 2028, the Yankees might be desperate for the latter half of Fried's deal to produce some serious fruit."
As long as Fried is solid for the next few seasons, the contract will still have been worth it in total. But he could be an expensive guy relative to his production at the tail end.
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