For 26 teams, the 2024 season has already come to an end. That will soon be the case for all 30 teams, and within a few weeks, MLB free agency will officially be underway.
In Braves Country, all eyes will be on staff ace Max Fried. The 30-year-old lefty will test the waters of free agency for the first time in his career, and every team with money available and a need for starting pitching will be lining up at his door with a recruiting pitch. Some of which have already started.
Max Fried has a couple of buddies from his high school team that are also prominent major league pitchers. One is hoping to lead the Dodgers back to the World Series next week in Jack Flaherty, but Lucas Giolito is thinking about the future, and he’s already trying to convince Max Fried to head north to Boston.
“You think I haven’t already talked to him about it?” Giolito said on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast.Â
“We played high school ball together and we always talked about how cool it would be if we were on the same team in the big leagues – which were legitimate conversations we would have when we were 17,” Giolito said, via 93.7 WEEI-FM. “So, this is the shot to make it a reality right here.”
For Braves fans, the unfortunate reality is that Max Fried has likely thrown his last pitch while donning a tomahawk across his chest. We’ve seen this song and dance before with Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson. Alex Anthopoulos is not going to go into the deep waters of a bidding war with a multitude of teams that are much more desperate for starting pitching than the Braves, like the Red Sox.
“Obviously, I think he would fit in great,” Giolito said. “Obviously, I think the need is there. You look at the starting pitcher depth chart and you don’t see a lot of ‘LHP’ and, in my opinion, he’s the best, most consistent starting pitcher. So, I think it’s a good fit. Obviously, I’m a little biased.”
With or without Max Fried, the Braves will have a very strong rotation going into 2025. Chris Sale returns after winning the NL Triple Crown. Spencer Schwellenbach appears to be an emerging star. Reynaldo Lopez is coming off his first All-Star appearance, and if the Braves are looking for a replacement for Fried, look no further than Spencer Strider, who is hoping to be ready for Opening Day after surgery on a torn UCL in April.
That’s about as talented of a 1-4 as you’ll find in the league, making Max Fried more of a luxury than a need. So, if you’re looking at this from a lesser of two evils perspective, Fried joining the Red Sox might be the best realistic case scenario for Braves fans. The last thing anybody in Braves Country wants to see is Max Fried going back to his hometown roots and wearing blue and white or, even worse, pitching for a division rival like the Mets or Phillies.
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Photo: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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