Longtime Los Angeles Dodgers target Max Fried has found his next home. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Fried is signing with the New York Yankees on an eight-year, $218 million deal. It is the largest guarantee for a left-handed pitcher in baseball history. It also makes the Dodgers’ five-year, $182 million deal for Blake Snell look that much better.

The Dodgers got ahead of the market by signing Snell before Thanksgiving. At the time, the deal seemed massive. However, as more contracts have come in, Snell’s deal could start to look like a bargain. Fried’s is doing just that.

Fried, who turns 31 in January, is a little more than one year younger than Snell, who turned 32 last week. However, Snell is a much more accomplished pitcher, having won two Cy Young awards — one in 2018 and one in 2023. Fried finished as high as second in Cy Young voting in 2022. He’s also a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove award winner.

Over the course of his eight-year career, Fried has pitched 884.1 innings, sporting a 3.07 ERA with 863 strikeouts. As for Snell, across his nine seasons, he’s thrown 1096.2 innings, sporting a 3.19 ERA with 1,368 strikeouts.

There’s obviously more mileage on Snell’s arm, but he also was arguably the best pitcher in baseball during the second half of last season, sporting a 1.45 ERA over his last 12 starts.

As for Fried, he’s coming off a 2024 season in which he had a 3.25 ERA across 174.1 innings pitched. He’s now signed to the richest contract for a left-handed pitcher in MLB history, and fourth-richest all-time. He has no deferrals and no opt-outs in the deal.