The New York Yankees are enjoying a strong campaign despite some key absentees in their pitching staff. Max Fried has led their starting rotation admirably with their ace, Gerrit Cole, being sidelined for the entire season.
Max Fried Reacts to His New Baseball Card in Yankees Uniform
On Wednesday, June 11, sports collectibles manufacturer Topps released its Series 2 of MLB cards for the 2025 season. The latest collection features many players that switched teams in the offseason, including Fried in a Yankees uniform for the first time.
Fried expressed his excitement at seeing his card from the 2025 Topps Series 2 collection. He shared a three-word reaction along with an image of the card on social media. “I’m chasing this,” he posted on his Instagram story.
Max Fried
19/25 pic.twitter.com/A9QVmVKjsT— RichieRipsTCG (@Richiejr4_) June 12, 2025
The Yankees had signed Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract, and he has been worth every cent so far. He made a seamless transition to his new team and became the ace of their rotation after Cole was ruled out for the season due to Tommy John surgery.
The 31-year-old has pitched 88.0 innings in his 14 starts and holds a 9-1 record to lead the American League in each of the categories. Moreover, he has a miserly 1.84 ERA with a 0.932 WHIP while allowing just 6.5 base hits per nine innings.
Fried had previously played nine seasons in Atlanta and established himself as one of the foremost starting pitchers in the game. He made two All-Star Game appearances during his time with the Braves and won the 2021 World Series with the team.
The Bronx Bombers had acquired the left-handed pitcher after losing out on the Juan Soto sweepstakes last December. The Dominican slugger also debuts in a New York Mets uniform in the new release from Topps.
Soto had signed up for the Mets on a record-breaking 15-year, $765 million deal after a lengthy negotiation process, but the start to his career in Queens has been somewhat underwhelming considering the massive expectations from the fans.
Noteworthy Additions in 2025 Topps Series 2
Other notable new additions in Series 2 include Alex Bregman. The third baseman had made a bright start to the season after joining the Boston Red Sox on a three-year, $120 million deal but is currently on the IL with a right quad strain.
Blake Snell is also among the offseason signings that are included in the new collection from Topps. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed him to a five-year, $182 million deal, but he has made only two starts this year and is sidelined indefinitely for the moment.
Moreover, Series 2 contains several base rookie cards that will be of great interest to the collectors. They include Roki Sasaki (Dodgers), Luisangel Acuña (Mets), Matt Shaw (Cubs), Cam Smith (Astros), and Kristian Campbell (Red Sox).