Mike Francesa joined BT and Sal on Wednesday afternoon to talk about one of the most memorable offseasons in New York baseball history, as Juan Soto is heading to the Mets on a mammoth 15-year deal.
As for the Yankees, who lost out on Soto, the pivot has begun, signing Max Fried to an eight-year deal. Mike loves the player but not the contract, and is worried that the Yanks could continue to overpay for aging players as they try to take back the city.
“It’s a seismic shift in power. It’s a seismic shift in the city from a media and fan standpoint,” Mike said. “It shouldn’t be that for the Yankees. The Yankees should just go about their business. I think the Yankees fall into a trap of trying to win December now, win back the back page rather than build a team properly, which they have had an incredible problem doing the last 10 years.
“The Yankees have forgotten how to build a team properly, and I don’t want them to fall into the same trap of bringing in older, bigger players, because that’s not the route to take.”
As for Fried, Mike believes the contract is too much of a resemblance of typical Yankee behavior, paying top dollar and adding extra years onto a contract that will take a player near his age-40 season.
“Max Fried, nobody can argue that. That guy is a major talent,” Mike said. “But the eight-year contract is utterly ridiculous. It’s such an overreaction by at least three years. I wouldn’t give him more than five years.
“The guy is injury prone...and he’s got an eight-year contract at 30 years old. I think the contract is ridiculous.”