Report: A’s chased Max Fried before pitcher inked deal with NYY
Dec 11, 2024, 8:52 AM | Updated: 12:36 pm
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
UPDATE: December 11, 2024 – 12:30 pm PT
Athletics GM David Forst disputes the claim that the A’s aggressively pursued Max Fried in free agency.
Original Story
The Athletics turned heads last week when the news broke that they had signed free agent pitcher Luis Severino to a franchise-record three-year, $67 million deal, and the club continued to seek big-name pitching at this week’s MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas.
Following reports that the A’s, who will be playing in Sacramento for at least the next three seasons as they wait for a planned ballpark to be built in Las Vegas, need to raise their payroll over the $100 million mark to avoid a grievance from the MLB Player’s Association, another big name pitcher was linked to the club on Tuesday.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, the Athletics were “one of the most aggressive teams” chasing free-agent All-Star pitcher Max Fried before the left-hander signed a deal with the New York Yankees.
Fried signed an eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees–the largest contract for a left-handed pitcher and the fourth-largest deal for a pitcher in league history–as New York grapples with the loss of star outfielder Juan Soto, who signed a monster 15-year, $765 million pact with the cross-town Mets.
The Athletics were “one of the most aggressive teams” in the Max Fried sweepstakes before he signed with the Yankees, per @BNightengale pic.twitter.com/i0hJESnDgv
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) December 11, 2024
The A’s will continue to chase free agents this winter as they look to add to a roster that fell just short of the 70-win mark in 2024.
Not only do the Athletics have to acquire talent to field a more competitive product in Sacramento, but they also have to raise a notoriously low payroll that finished the 2024 season dead last among all MLB teams ($62.1 million).
More A’s baseball coverage from Sactown Sports
In what was officially the franchise’s first press conference since its departure from Oakland, the A’s announced the signing of star pitcher Luis Severino on Friday afternoon.
Severino, who inked a record-breaking three-year, $67 million deal–the largest guarantee in the history of the A’s franchise, surpassing a six-year, $66 million extension for Eric Chavez that was signed in 2004–arrived at the Kimpton-Sawyer Hotel in downtown Sacramento to don the green and gold for the very first time.
Following a nine-year stint in New York that featured eight seasons with the Yankees and one with the Mets, Severino is heading West and into the unknown as the A’s navigate through unchartered waters.
The seldom-spending Athletics will play in West Sacramento at Sutter Health Park, home of the Sacramento River Cats (AAA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants) during the 2025-27 seasons as they wait for a new ballpark to be complete in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Adding talent in free agency isn’t something that the A’s typically do, but following whispers that the franchise was feeling pressure to reach the $100 million mark in roster salary, they made the first surprising move of the offseason by signing the two-time All-Star in Severino to a multi-year deal.
“It meant a lot for my family. I thank the A’s for the opportunity to be here,” Severino said when asked about his new contract. “I’m going to give 100 percent and be the person, teammate, and pitcher I can be. I’m excited to see what we can do. In the end, it’s about playing baseball.”
Read more below:
Upcoming 2024-25 MLB Offseason Dates
- MLB free agency begins the day after the final World Series game
- Players can sign contracts with new teams five days after the final World Series game
- December 8-11th – MLB Winter Meetings in Dallas, TX
- February TBD – Pitchers & catchers report for Spring Training
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