Aug 16, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried (54) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Yankees Starter Gets Brutally Honest About Fall Off

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Erin Shapland | Last updated Aug 17, 2025 11:00 AM ET

New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried was an All Star after the first half, but in the second half, he's losing his edge.

In the Yankees' 12-8 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Fried gave up seven runs on eight hits over his five innings pitched, contributing to a concerning trend that has developed over the last month and a half. In that time, the team has sunk in the standings and may just manage to limp into the postseason with enough luck. Fried commented on his recent shortcomings after the game.

“Just haven’t been sharp,” Fried said. “Haven’t had the good results. When you got to go out there and have good outings, I haven’t been able to do that. I’m working hard in between to try to make the best adjustments I can. They haven’t really been showing, but we’re here to win games. Really fortunate today that they put up 12 runs to be able to cover me. But I know going forward, I got to be way better.”

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Fortunately for Fried he had ample run support in last night's game, especially from sophomore utility man Ben Rice, who drove in an astonishing seven RBIs over the night. The Yankees haven't always been so lucky this season, but it doesn't seem like the team is making a priority of working on the offense as much as the pitching and defense. As manager Aaron Boone said himself, "the offense is probably the least of our concerns."

The struggling Yankees ace suffered a blister that kept him out of the All Star Game this year, but it seems the blister has lapsed as he is faced with a whole new set of problems. Now holding a 13-5 record with a 3.26 ERA, Fried knows what he's doing isn't working, and he has limited time to fix it.

Fried was on fire before All Star week, owning a 2.27 ERA and leading the MLB with 11 wins. The Yankees picked Fried up just this year after a successful run with the Atlanta Braves, earning him two All Star selections, three Gold Gloves, one Silver Slugger and a World Series win. Fried was the NL Cy Young runner up in 2022. Boone has nothing but faith in Fried, and believes his record demonstrates that he'll be able to pull himself out of this with enough time.

“Even the elite-level pitchers go through things like this at times,” Boone said. “He’ll get there. He’ll get through it. There’s nothing wrong with him. Physically he’s in a good spot, stuff’s there. It’s just another level of execution. You’re kind of going through it a little bit, so you’re mentally fighting yourself. There’s no alarming, ‘Oh his stuff’s down,’ or, ‘What’s wrong with this?’ He’s too good to not get through it.”

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