If you’re a Braves fan headed to Truist Park tonight, take a moment to soak it all in when Max Fried toes the rubber for the first pitch of the ball game, because it very well may be his last start with the Braves at Truist Park.
Of course, we hope that’s not the case. The Braves are still in the hunt for one of the final spots in the National League Wild Card race, neck-and-neck with the Diamondbacks and Mets. Still, in order for Fried to start another game at Truist Park, not only will the Braves have to make the postseason, they’ll also have to win a three-game Wild Card series on the road. It’s a tall order, but this is a club that just won’t die, and they’re playing some of their best baseball coming down the stretch.
Regardless, Max Fried’s free agency will soon be the headline of the offseason. The 30-year-old southpaw has spent his entire eight-year career in Atlanta, owning a 72-36 record with a 3.10 ERA. He’s been the most consistent left-handed starting pitcher of the last half-decade, and he’s going to get paid like it in just a few short months.
Whether it’s by the Braves remains to be seen, but if history has told us anything, Fried remaining in Atlanta is highly unlikely. Guys that hit free agency generally aren’t interested in taking discounts, and Alex Anthopoulos has shown he’s not willing to budge for anyone, even players that have been the face of the franchise like Fried. Freddie Freeman walked after a 2021 campaign that saw the Braves win the World Series. Dansby Swanson soon followed him the next year, and Max Fried seems to be heading down a very similar path.
But this one feels even more inevitable than the others. When Freeman left, there was no obvious replacement for him. The same could be said for Swanson. But Fried… It almost feels criminal to say, but the Braves don’t really need him.
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