The Atlanta Braves remain one of the most stacked teams in the MLB. They have some enviable position player depth, which they used to trade for talented, albeit injury-prone southpaw Chris Sale to bolster a pitching rotation that already has Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Bryce Elder — four top-level pitchers who can function as other teams' ace or perhaps number two.
Alas, the Braves will be running into some tough roster decisions sooner than later. One of them, in particular, will be about Fried's future with the franchise. The 29-year old lefty is in the final year of arbitration, and a contract extension doesn't seem to be imminent.
Given the Braves' reluctance to splash the cash in a manner similar to that of their fellow NL powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic thinks that Max Fried is as good as gone.
“Fried, in my opinion, is almost certain to leave as a free agent He’s going to be priced out of where the Braves want to be,” Rosenthal said on his YouTube show, Foul Territory.
Max Fried has been one of the best pitchers in the majors for quite some time now, which makes his future contract once he's free from team control something that may be far too expensive for the Braves' liking. Since 2020, Fried has put up a 2.66 ERA in 484.2 innings of work (83 starts), striking out 458 during that span. Those are elite numbers, and he'll surely be one of the most sought-after free agents when his contract is up.
The Braves have shown in the past that they're confident in their ability to replace their established stars with up-and-comers or cheaper options. Atlanta traded for Matt Olson to replace Freddie Freeman, they let Dansby Swanson walk in free agency, and Chase Irle of Sports Talk Atlanta pointed out, the Braves' club record for most-expensive free-agent signing remains at $75.25 million — which is the amount they gave BJ Upton back in 2012.
As sad as the day of Max Fried's eventual departure may be, the Braves have to make his likely final season in Atlanta count as they try to exorcise their playoff demons in 2024.
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