Yankees' Fried 'can't try to fill anyone else's shoes' with Cole out

New York Yankees left-hander Max Fried is focused on remaining levelheaded as the team's new ace with teammate Gerrit Cole undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery Tuesday.

"For me, I have to be Max Fried," he said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "I can't try to fill anyone else's shoes. I've pitched with a lot of really great teammates and stuff like that. I have to know what makes me successful and not try to be someone I'm not."

Fried signed an eight-year, $218-million contract with the Yankees during the offseason. He'll now lead a rotation that projects to feature Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman, and Clarke Schmidt. Will Warren, Carlos Carrasco, and Allan Winans are fighting for the last spot during spring training. On top of Cole's absence, reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil is expected to miss three months due to a lat strain.

"At the end of the day, no one is Gerrit Cole, right?" Fried said. "I've got to take the ball every time that I take the ball. It doesn't matter if he was on the mound or not. Realistically, it's just about doing my job. It's going out there and making sure that, when I take the ball, we have a really good chance to win that day."

Fried owns a career 3.07 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP and an 8.8 K/9 over eight years with the Atlanta Braves. The 31-year-old is a two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glover, and he won a World Series in 2021.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman acknowledged his club will likely have to lean on internal options to reinforce the rotation but didn't rule out acquiring a player.

"You certainly hope you can avoid injuries, but injuries are also part of this," Cashman told YES Network's Meredith Marakovits on Tuesday.

The GM added, "We'll evaluate, again, what we have here. Warren's pitched extremely well so far. Obviously, Carrasco's pitched extremely well so far. We'll also evaluate what's available outside of camp."