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The Atlanta Braves lost starting pitcher Max Fried to the New York Yankees in MLB free agency. Fried agreed to a $218 million contract with the Yankees after previously spending his entire career in Atlanta. Former Braves star and MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz reacted to Fried joining the Yankees during a recent appearance on Foul Territory.
“I thought that's the best thing the Yankees could have done,” Smoltz said of the Fried signing. “I think when you lose and you've got that ‘oh my gosh' feeling… Yankees fans are like, ‘we didn't sign (Juan) Soto, now what?'
“Well, now I think they're going to be able to do multiple things… Can they be healthy is the other question. Max Fried… he's an elite pitcher. To pitch in Yankee Stadium with that staff now, it's kind of in a different way. Instead of the Yankees always trying to out-score everybody, I think they're gonna run-prevent people.
“They're gonna have to clean up defensively, no doubt. They gotta get fundamentally better… But I think they're gonna pitch as good as anybody in that division.”
Smoltz believes the signing will benefit the Yankees in a pivotal manner. The former Braves star is excited to see how Fried performs with his new ballclub. When healthy, Fried is among the best pitchers in baseball. He has dealt with some injury trouble over the years, something that Smoltz doesn't expect to be too problematic in New York.
“I think he will stay healthy,” Smoltz continued “That's been the question mark for him with Atlanta. I'm a believer, sometimes, when you get that contract as a pitcher, you're free to pitch a little bit discomfort… Before, you're more, I know the word is ‘stay healthy so you can get paid,' and maybe that frees it up for a lot of pitchers if they get their contract.”
The Braves will attempt to continue playing a competitive brand of baseball despite losing the star left-handed pitcher. Smoltz sounds confident that Fried will play a pivotal role in New York with the Yankees.
