The race to signal ace pitcher Max Fried seems to be down to 3 groups, all of them residing within the American League East.

In response to a report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required), the Yankees, Purple Sox and Blue Jays are the frontrunners to signal Fried, who is anticipated to make his determination by Thursday. Fried reportedly already has been supplied a seven-year deal from one workforce, a supply informed MLB Community insider Jon Paul Morosi, and the Yankees are keen to make a seven-year provide as properly, per Morosi.

MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch confirmed that the Yankees are “very ” in Fried, including that they view him as a possible No. 2 starter in a postseason rotation.

Fried, who will flip 31 in January, has spent his whole profession with the Braves, posting a 3.07 ERA with 863 strikeouts over 884 1/3 innings spanning components of eight seasons. The left-hander has been particularly efficient since 2020, posting a 2.81 ERA — the bottom in MLB amongst pitchers with at the very least 500 innings in that span. In second place? Fellow free agent Corbin Burnes (2.88).

Unsurprisingly, there’s some overlap within the markets for these two ace pitchers, with Rosenthal reporting that Burnes can be producing curiosity from the three aforementioned AL East golf equipment. The Giants have been linked to Burnes, too, however they aren’t among the many finalists for Fried. In the meantime, the Yankees and Purple Sox are reportedly among the many golf equipment concerned in commerce talks for White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet, who’s extensively anticipated to be traded this offseason.

Fried and Burnes turned down qualifying presents from the Braves and Orioles, respectively, so they’re tied to Draft compensation in the event that they signal elsewhere.