Bleacher Report on the player Braves must re-sign

Braves trade deadline Alex Anthopoulos

The Atlanta Braves may not have a long list of high-profile players hitting free agency, but all eyes will be on Max Fried. For the past half-decade, Fried has been the ace of the Braves’ pitching staff, earning two All-Star selections and multiple top-five finishes in the Cy Young race. However, the Braves have gained a reputation for allowing star players to leave once they reach free agency—a trend that Tim Kelly from Bleacher Report argues needs to change.

Fried doesn’t have a perfect health history, but since undergoing Tommy John surgery in August 2014 as a prospect, he’s largely avoided any major injuries.

He’s also become one of the better pitchers in baseball, posting top-five NL Cy Young Award finishes in 2020 and 2022, the latter of which he finished runner-up. Additionally, Fried’s resume across eight seasons with the Braves features two All-Star Game selections and three Gold Glove Awards.

Under president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos, the Braves have let players who sought to maximize their earnings in free agency—like Josh Donaldson, Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson—leave. It will be interesting to see if they operate that way with Fried. The 2025 Braves would certainly be worse without him.

The Braves aren’t going to improve by losing Max Fried. Over the past five years, he’s been one of the most consistently dominant left-handed starters in the game. While he’s had some minor injuries, he’s managed to avoid anything major. Despite his importance, Fried will leave in free agency—and I don’t think the Braves will fight too hard to keep him.

The 2024 season was a surprising success for the Braves’ rotation, especially given they lost Spencer Strider after just two starts. Chris Sale, in his first year with the team, finally stayed healthy and is now expected to take home the NL Cy Young Award. Reynaldo López, who was an experiment for the Braves, has transformed into one of the league’s top starters.

But the biggest breakthrough of all, in terms of the Braves’ long-term outlook, was the emergence of Spencer Schwellenbach. The 24-year-old started the season in High-A Rome and, after fewer than 50 innings, made his way to the majors and never looked back. He ended the year with a 3.35 ERA over 21 starts, growing stronger as the season went on.

Schwellenbach looks like a future superstar. Chris Sale could arguably be the best pitcher in baseball right now, Reynaldo López is fresh off his first All-Star season, and Spencer Strider is set to return around Opening Day. At this point, Max Fried seems more like a luxury than a necessity. The Braves were willing to let Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson walk despite lacking clear replacements for them, so it’s hard to see them seriously competing for Fried in free agency.

Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

 

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