Baseball may be built on rivalries, but beneath the roar of the crowd and the heat of competition, it’s the quiet bonds that often write the most powerful stories. When Carlos Rodon and Max Fried—two left-handed warriors found themselves side by side in the Yankees clubhouse, it wasn’t just a reunion. It was a spark. One pitching ace rising from a stormy past, the other quietly rooting for him like a brother. For both, watching each other shine is more than a teammate’s joy, it’s personal. Their connection runs deep, and now, it’s lighting up the Bronx.

Rodon and Fried have been excellent in the Yankees’ rotation this season, both finding rhythms of their own in the growth. And when both are left-handed starters sharing the same mound, influence isn’t just inevitable, it comes as instinctive. That’s exactly what happened here. The bond grew over time, strengthened by the shared desire to pitch like the best. From his Opening Day on, Rodon began leaning into soft contacts and aim for pinching deep, a subtle change he picked up watching Fried work his magic.

“That’s new for me,” Rodón told the Daily News’ Garry Phillips on his Opening Day against the Brewers. “It’s something I’m not used to. That’s what Max does. He relies on weak contact and goes deep into games. I would love to do that.” And the inspiration isn’t one-way—Rodon has been very good with strikeouts, something Fried tries to imitate, too. Watching each other take the ball every day opens the door to learning, and in the process, they’ve started to play more like each other.

This bond came naturally, built on a connection that existed even before they met in the Bronx, wearing the pinstripes together. Red Sox star Lucas Giolito was the common connection between them. Rodon and Giolito were teammates on the White Sox, but Fried goes further back; both he and Giolito played high school ball together at Harvard-Westlake. The three connected over games of ‘Call of Duty’ online years back. But now, as teammates, the bond has only grown stronger.“I just knew when we signed Max that I was gonna have a good relationship with him,” Rodón said. “He’s such an easy-going guy and easy to talk to. For me, it was like a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. He showed up here and we just hit it off.”

Well, they didn’t just hit it off; they naturally picked up on each other’s strengths, learning and growing together. “Being able to take what [Rodón] does and watch him every time he takes the ball, it definitely helps me see the different possibilities of what I can also do.“, said Fried. The Yankees’ manager also weighed in. “Their rapport has been really good, and I think it’s elevated both of them, especially for Carlos, that’s real,” Aaron Boone said about the duo. Not just the manager, Yankees injured ace Gerrit Cole also sensed the special, symbiotic relationship between the lefties. “Another level of closeness,” is how Cole put it. And Carlos needed any help he could get, as the weight of filling the void left by Cole was squarely on his shoulders.

Rodon carries the load in Cole’s absence

Rodon was the next man up after Gerrit Cole succumbed to injury this spring. With the anchor of the rotation down with a right elbow issue, Rodon became the answer to the uncertainty looming over the Yankees. The weight of expectations was heavy on him, more than the pressure of a comeback after a shaky 2023 season. But Rodon didn’t let it sink him. He remained confident throughout.

He opened up on a recent Michael Kay Show about Cole’s absence: “Obviously, it’s tough not having Gerrit this year. And I mean, so what could have been this year with him? You know, where would we be now? But that’s hindsight, and that’s behind us.” Rodon kept looking forward even in tough times. “It doesn’t change my mindset,” he said. “You do your job.” And that’s exactly how it should be. It’s this mindset that helped him push through a rough first season with the team and mount a comeback.

The 32-year-old, in his 13 games this season, is maintaining an ERA of 2.49. From 79.2 innings pitched, he has 98 strikeouts. He has put together some great performances, just enough for fans to forget the boos from 2023. He’s making sure the $162 million the Yankees committed to him isn’t a mistake. Now, as he prepares to start the highly anticipated Yankees vs. Red Sox series finale, all eyes are on him to deliver against their biggest rivals and seal the series. Yankee fans can relax, they are definitely in good hands.