Yankees and Padres Matchup Highlights How Front Office Made Right Call On Fried

There have been plenty of times in recent years where Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees have been on the wrong side of major starting pitcher roster decisions.

Lefty Carlos Rodón is performing well now, but before this season, he failed to live up to the lucrative contract he signed prior to the 2023 campaign.

A year ago it was Marcus Stroman who the Yankees brought in to support ace Gerrit Cole before he too squandered an opportunity to cement himself as a top-of-the-rotation arm.

On Wednesday night at Yankee stadium, New York will take on the San Diego Padres in a contest that will feature a marquee pitching matchup between a pitcher the team acquired in the offseason and another one they could have pursued.

New Yankee ace Max Fried will face the team that drafted him with the No. 7 overall pick back in 2012, and right-handed ace Dylan Cease will toe the rubber for the other side.

Should the Yankees Have Tried to Trade For Dylan Cease?

There was much speculation and intrigue over what Cashman could do to bolster the pitching staff to help compensate for the loss of superstar outfielder Juan Soto.

Many fans and pundits speculated that Cease would be a great fit behind Cole, providing New York with another flame-throwing righty with a history of contending for Cy Young awards.

Instead, they signed Fried to a record-setting contract for a total of $218 million, the most ever doled out to a left-handed pitcher in MLB history.

If Cashman was at any point choosing between the two options, the early returns suggest that he certainly picked the right path.

Fried is 6-0 with a 1.01 ERA to begin his career as a Yankee, and he took home March/April American League Pitcher of the Month honors with ease.

Cease, on the other hand, has floundered to start the season with San Diego. After posting a 3.7 ERA in 33 starts a year ago, the Georgia native has surrendered a 5.61 ERA in his first seven starts of 2025.

He is allowing a career-high 10.4 hits per nine innings, and he is walking batters more frequently than he has in any season since 2021.

New York has such a dearth of high-level prospects that any trade the Padres would have even considered in exchange for Cease would have left the club's farm system completely barren, and Cashman was able to land Fried without having to make a trade to do so, outbidding several other teams for the ace's services.

We'll see if Fried can beat Cease on Wednesday and keep his hot streak rolling, but Yankee fans can rest assured that Cashman made the right call.

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