Bidding War? MLB Insider Thinks Pitcher’s Market Boils Down To Two Teams

Those who missed out on Juan Soto were expected to shift gears to top-of-market pitching, and it seems that’s how it’s played out.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have been rumored as the top suitors for left-handed pitcher Max Fried. MLB insider Robert Murray on Tuesday indicated there are others in the mix, but ultimately believes it will boil down to the Yankees and Red Sox.

“The Max Fried market is interesting to me,” Murray said on “The Baseball Insiders” podcast. “I’ve heard varying timelines on when a deal could possibly happen here, but I think the teams to look at are the teams on the East Coast. You look at the Yankees, the Red Sox, maybe the Orioles … the Blue Jays, as well.

“But when you look at his market, my guess is it might end up coming down to the Yankees or Red Sox here. There’s widespread interest, I don’t think a deal is imminent as of this point, but I know there’s teams who are really liking him and it would not surprise me if we saw some teams make a push in the next few days.”

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote Sunday (before Soto’s reported deal) that Fried could find himself in “a nice bidding war” between the Red Sox and Yankees. New York Post’s Jon Heyman speculated Fried could land a six-year deal worth $166 million.