The Yankees efforts to re-sign have dominated headlines in the Bronx this offseason, but theyre also laying the groundwork for other free agent po sibilities. The Yankees held a 90-minute meeting with longtime Braves lefty this week, as , who adds that the talk went well and the two sides are expected to meet again. that the two sides met, with the Yankees contingent consisting of GM Brian Cashman, manager , pitching coach Matt Blake and as many as six other team officials. Puma and Sherman further add that the Yankees met with late last month. Soto, of course, remains the Yankees top focus. It seems unlikely that theyd sign him to what increasingly and then put down more than $150MM on one of Fried or Burnes though the Yanks certainly have the resources to do so. Still, its only natural for any Soto suitor to be doing homework on potential contingency plans in the event that he signs elsewhere. Loading up on high-end starting pitching and addre sing the lineup in other ways would be one such po sibility. (Notably, the Yankees have also to infielder , whos third base or second base with a new club.) The Yankees already have one of the most expensive staffs in the sport. , and are owed a combined $81MM next year. is to earn $7.7MM. Righty is projected at $3.5MM. Newly minted Rookie of the Year is still in his pre-arbitration years. Theres been speculation about the Yankees moving either Stroman or Cortes this winter, both of which seem plausible. Adding someone the caliber of Fried of Burnes would make a trade elsewhere in the rotation a virtual inevitability. Either Burnes or Fried would join Cole right atop what could be a powerhouse Yankees rotation. Both pitchers rejected qualifying offers from their former clubs, meaning both would cost the Yankees their second- and fifth-highest draft selections, in addition to $1MM of space from their 2025 bonus pool in international free agency. For a pitcher of either caliber, thats a small price to pay. Keegan Akin Jersey Fried, 31 in January, has rattled off 659 innings of 2.81 ERA ball dating back to the 2020 season. Hes third among all qualified starting pitchers in ERA in that time, trailing only (2.76) and (2.79). Fried has thrown nearly 200 more innings than both those pitchers. His 2024 season wasnt his best, but only relative to his lofty standards. He made 29 starts, totaling 174 1/3 innings, and notched a tidy 3.25 ERA. Fried doesnt mi s bats like the prototypical ace but has a slightly better-than-average 23.6% strikeout rate over the past five seasons. He sports a strong 6.3% walk rate in that time and is among the games very best when it comes to minimizing hard contact and avoiding opponents barrels. He also racks up grounders at a plus rate (54.2% since 2020) highlighted by a career-best 58.8% mark in 2024. Fried has generally been durable, although he was limited to 14 starts in 2023 due to a forearm strain that did not end up requiring surgery. He mi sed three starts in 2024 due to a nerve i sue in that same forearm, but thats ostensibly a different i sue than the one that sidelined him in 23. Burnes is nearly a full year younger, having turned 30 about five weeks ago. Hes solidified himself as a true workhorse, ranking third in the majors in innings pitched over the past five seasons and sitting narrowly behind Fried with a fourth-ranked 2.88 ERA in that same span. Burnes was traded from the Brewers to the Orioles last offseason and proved himself against many of the very same AL East lineups hed be facing as a Yankee. He made 32 starts and pitched 194 1/3 innings of 2.92 ERA ball for the Os, adding eight innings of one-run excellence in Baltimores brief postseason foray. Dominant as Burnes has been at times in his career, his recent work bears some resemblance to that of Fried. Thats not a bad thing, of course, but his once sky-high strikeout rate now sits at a roughly league-average rate (23.1% in 2024). Like Fried, hes countered the diminished strikeout tendencies with sharp command and a knack for dodging hard contact. Burnes doesnt generate grounders at the same level, but his 46.9% career mark and 2024s 48.8% rate are both still comfortably above average. The general thinking has been that Burnes will sign the largest contract of any pitcher this offseason. Hes two years younger than who signed for five years and $182MM with the Dodgers (albeit with some deferrals) and a year younger than Fried. His blend of durability and effectivene s is unmatched among this years crop of free agents. Fried, however, should command a deal well north of $100MM himself quite po sibly approaching or even exceeding the $162MM the Yankees promised to Rodon two winters ago. The Yankees currently project for a payroll around $230MM, . Theyre currently below the luxury tax threshold, but only nominally so. Even minor additions in free agency or on the trade market will push them into luxury territory. Theyve been a tax payor in each of the past three seasons, however, and their pursuits of various high-end free agents makes it clear theyre comfortable not only paying the tax for a fourth straight season but perhaps pushing into the highest tier of penalty again at least for the 2025 season. Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner has said that trotting out a payroll of that magnitude every season in the long run. However, thats probably the reality for the immediate future, so long as the Yanks are paying , Cole and Rodon a combined $103MM annually through 2028 (to say nothing of weighty commitments to , , Stroman and any forthcoming free agent/trade additions). Bruce Zimmermann Jersey