The New York Yankees had a call with one of the top free-agent pitchers available on Tuesday.

Michael Kay shed some light on the Bronx Bombers’ free-agent pursuit of Max Fried on his ESPN talk show on Wednesday. The lefty is one of the best starters available to all 30 teams this winter. The Yankees reportedly met with the pitcher, and sources say things went positively.

“The Yankees had a 90-minute Zoom call with Max Fried yesterday, and it supposedly went very well,” Kay said. “Somebody who’s on the Fried side said that Max really really liked them and apparently they’re going to have another meeting as well,” he added.

Fried has spent the entirety of his eight-year MLB career with the Atlanta Braves. The lefty went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA in 29 starts in 2024. He also struck out 166 batters over 174.1 innings of work.

Fried has been a consistent starter over the last five years. He earned Cy Young votes in 2020 and 2022, and he is a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner over that stretch. The starter has also had at least 2.6 wins above replacement in every year since 2019.

Fried is joined by Corbin Burnes, and Jack Flaherty as the top free-agent starters on the market. Blake Snell was the first big-name pitcher to sign, earning a $182 million contract. Fried may not reach the same value with his deal, but the pitcher is expected to command a nine-figure contract from his future team.

Casey Fahrer is a 2024 graduate of Syracuse University and a contributor to Inside The Pinstripes. He can be reached at [email protected].