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Where will Max Fried go? The pitcher, most recently with the Braves, seems destined to move on from Atlanta, and it appears he is heading north to either the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
Fried has played his entire MLB career with the Braves to this point, but as his rumored deal continues to rise, Atlanta may no longer be home for much longer. Instead, the Yankees and Red Sox, bitter AL East rivals, are reportedly more than interested in signing Fried, who, along with Corbin Burns, is highly sought-after on the free agency market, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
“[Burns and Fried] haven't thrown a pitch in more than two months, but their stocks have soared thanks to the contracts given to pitchers whose resumes pale in comparison,” Nightengale wrote. “When Matthew Boyd receives a 2-year, $29 million contract without throwing more than 79 innings since 2019, when Luis Severino is getting $67 million over three years and Blake Snell is making an average annual salary of $36.4 million, Burnes and Fried should top $200 million. The San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox all lurk.
“The only drama is whether Fried goes ahead and signs before Burnes, or lets Burnes set the bar. Fried priced himself out of Atlanta, but is expected to sign with the Yankees or Red Sox. If Soto goes to the Mets, Fried could find himself in a nice bidding war between the Red Sox and Yankees.”
Max Fried drawing big interest from Yankees, Red Sox
Whether the massive, potentially $750 million domino of Soto drops before the pitchers decide where they want to go remains to be seen, but it certainly appears that each will be getting the massive payday that eluded multiple players, including Snell, last offseason.
Fried has been in MLB since 2017 when he made his debut with the Braves. Since then, he has earned two All-Star selections, three Gold Glove awards, and finished in the top five of NL Cy Young voting twice. Additionally, Fried helped Atlanta win its first World Series title in more than 25 years.
This past season, his eighth in MLB, Fried started 29 games and recorded a 3.25 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 1.164 WHIP, and 128 ERA+. The season was Fried's worst in some time; in each of the four seasons preceding 2024, Fried had not recorded an ERA+ of less than 143 or ERA over 3.04.
Despite the down season, Fried, who will turn 31 next month, is still one of the most attractive options for contending teams in need of high-quality starting pitchers.
