TAMPA — Max Fried knows who he is and who he is not.
He might have gained a title of “ace,” but his identity remains the same.
“I have to be Max Fried,” the lefty said Tuesday morning. “I can’t try to fill in anyone else’s shoes.”
Gerrit Cole’s cleats will not be filled because there is no one like Gerrit Cole, a workhorse on a Hall of Fame trajectory who had avoided the kind of injuries that finally struck this spring.
Cole was set to require Tommy John surgery Tuesday, which will see massive ramifications around the Yankees.
Among those affected is Fried, who now is the de facto No. 1 pitcher and no longer Cole’s sidekick.
“Obviously, I really feel for him. It stinks. He’s a competitor and he wants to be out there,” Fried said of Cole, with whom he shared a clubhouse for about a month. “I was really excited to be able to share a dugout and be able to play with him. It’ll just be delayed a little bit.”
Luis Gil’s injury opened a rotation spot for Marcus Stroman, and the Cole crusher has created an avenue for either prospect Will Warren or longtime veteran Carlos Carrasco.
Fried, who signed an eight-year, $218 million contract this offseason, assuredly becomes the club’s Opening Day starter — though he said he has not been informed of the team’s plans yet.
The Yankees’ spring training has been hit hard with injuries, from Cole to Gil to Giancarlo Stanton to DJ LeMahieu to a large chunk of their bullpen options.
Like Aaron Judge, Fried emphasized that it is March 11. There is time to get healthier and time for players to step up.
“We still have a full season, and we still have a lot of really talented, great players in this locker room that we’re confident in,” Fried said.