NEW YORK — The Yankees have been chasing this teenager since before most fans knew his name existed. On Monday, they finally got their man.
Eighteen-year-old left-handed pitcher Tijn Fredrikze signed with the Yankees on the final day of the international signing period. The deal came with a $90,000 bonus. But the real story is how long the organization worked to make it happen.
Fredrikze broke his silence on the signing with Dutch outlet HonkbalSoftbalNL. His words revealed a pursuit that stretches back months and a relationship built on something beyond baseball.
Yankees played the long game
The signing may have come at the deadline. The groundwork was laid much earlier.
Fredrikze told Dutch reporters he knew he would sign with the Yankees as far back as April. The organization had been tracking his progress for even longer than that.
“They’d been following me for a while and really saw the progress I’d made,” Fredrikze told HonkbalSoftbalNL. “You often see clubs approach the player right away. But the Yankees politely approached my parents first. That felt very professional. It really gave me the feeling that they were investing in me, not just as a player but also as a person.”
That approach stood out among the clubs pursuing him. Other organizations showed interest. The Yankees won because of how they handled the process.
MLB insider Francys Romero confirmed the signing on social media. He noted that scouts believe Fredrikze has room to grow.
“At 18, several scouts believe he has a chance to develop his velocity (88-91 MPH) and secondary pitches,” Romero reported.
Strikeout numbers demand attention
The velocity may be modest by big league standards. The results are anything but.
Fredrikze pitched for Kinheim in the Dutch Major League this past season. He was 18 years old. Many of his opponents were in their 20s and 30s.
In 17 games with 16 starts, Fredrikze posted a 3.79 ERA. He recorded 110 strikeouts. That total led the entire league.
His strikeout rate of 11.4 per nine innings was the highest among any pitcher with more than 15 innings in the Dutch Major League. The teenager was punching out grown men at a rate nobody else could match.
The Yankees saw a left-hander who misses bats at an elite rate. They believe the velocity and secondary stuff will come with professional development.
Roster rebuild continues in the Bronx
The Yankees are working to revamp their roster after a significant step back in 2025.
After reaching the World Series in 2024, the team lost superstar slugger Juan Soto. They added veterans like Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams to replace him. Those moves did not produce the same results.
Aside from bringing back outfielder Trent Grisham on a qualifying offer and re-signing utility man Amed Rosario, the Yankees have not executed many notable moves this offseason.
Fredrikze represents the Yankees investing in the future. He will need time to develop before becoming a factor. But his track record in European competition suggests the ceiling could be significant.
The Yankees have developed pitchers effectively in recent years. Luis Gil won the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year award. Clarke Schmidt emerged as a reliable starter before an injury halted his 2025 season. Cam Schlittler burst onto the scene late in 2025 and won the deciding game of the AL Wild Card Series.
Fredrikze hopes to follow that path.
Dutch pipeline has deep roots
Fredrikze is not the first player from the Netherlands to wear pinstripes. The connection between the Yankees and Dutch baseball runs back decades.
When asked about his example in professional baseball, Fredrikze named Robert Eenhoorn. The Yankees drafted Eenhoorn in the second round back in 1990. He became one of the most accomplished Dutch players in baseball history.
Eenhoorn played four seasons in the majors between the Yankees and Angels. He later managed the Netherlands national team to four consecutive European championships. He founded the Unicorn Baseball Academy in Rotterdam, the first baseball academy in Europe.
That academy helped create a pipeline of Dutch talent to American professional baseball. Fredrikze came through the Talent TeamNL Center in Amsterdam and played for various national youth teams before turning pro.
Other Dutch players have suited up for the Yankees over the years. Hensley Meulens and Didi Gregorius are among the names from the Kingdom of the Netherlands to play in the Bronx.
Fredrikze wants to add his name to that list.
Young pitcher ready for the challenge
The transition from European baseball to the American minor leagues will require adjustment. Fredrikze seems to understand that.
“I want to go in with an open mind, without any preconceived notions,” Fredrikze told HonkbalSoftbalNL. “It’s completely different from the Netherlands. I have to find a way that works for me.”
The Yankees dismissed international scouting director Donny Rowland after a 15-year run in November. Rowland was responsible for signing players like Jasson Dominguez, Luis Severino and Miguel Andujar.
Fredrikze becomes one of the first international signings of a new era in the Yankees organization.
The $90,000 bonus represents about 1.4 percent of the Yankees’ total international bonus pool for 2025. The Yankees obtained additional international bonus money at the trade deadline when they sent shortstop Oswald Peraza to the Angels.
That flexibility helped make the Fredrikze signing possible on the final day of the period.
The teenager from the Netherlands is now a Yankee. The organization that pursued him for months finally has him in the fold.
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