Fried discussed the benefits of working with Clemens in an MLB Network interview live from spring training on Thursday.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of two organizations with really great legends of this game,” Fried said. “For me to be able to come in the dugout and just talk to Roger like that, the guy’s got seven Cy Young’s, one of the best pitchers in baseball history. It was just fun to hear him talk and hear how he sees the game.”

Clemens was there to give Fried instant feedback in between innings, allowing him to make improvements in the moment.

“It was a lot of the stuff in between, what you tell yourself to get back on track.”

Fried is coming off a season in which he made 29 starts and finished the year with a 3.25 ERA. In 174.1 innings on the mound, Fried struck out 166 batters while only walking 57. After spending the entirety of his eight-year career so far with the Atlanta Braves, he has embraced the challenge of helping the Yankees compete again in 2025.

Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton might need surgery

After a bounce back season in 2024, New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton might need surgery after a second round of PRP injections in both elbows. General manager Brian Cashman confirmed it can’t be ruled out.

“It’d be a last resort… I can’t rule out a surgery, but I know it’s not recommended on the front end of this thing,” Cashman said, via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “But obviously if you have a number of different failed attempts then you start looking at different ways of intervention.”

Cashman also confirmed that Stanton’s injury can be traced back to last season.

“Ultimately, he was dealing with it at the end of last year and obviously thought we were in a game place and I think he was feeling in a good place” Cashman said. “But then it reared its ugly head about three weeks before camp, is my understanding, so now we’re dealing with it.”