By Matt Musico
Contributing Sports Writer
The Boston Red Sox just finished up their third straight non-winning season in 2024 with an 81-81 record. President of baseball operations Craig Breslow seems intent on upgrading his starting rotation, based on recent comments to The Athletic. Could longtime Atlanta Braves hurler Max Fried fit what the Red Sox are looking for?
Matt Johnson of Sportsnaut made predictions on landing spots and potential contracts for 10 MLB free agents. He thinks Fried will ultimately land in Boston on a six-year, $172 million deal. That would be significantly higher than Spotrac’s market-value projection of six years and $136 million.
Fried is anticipated to be one of this winter’s top free-agent pitchers, though. The southpaw could have multiple teams vying for his services, which would drive up the ultimate price of his next contract.
The 30-year-old spent the first eight years of his MLB career in Atlanta. He’s put together an impressive resume during that time. Fried owns a 73-36 record with a 3.07 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 863 strikeouts in 884.1 innings. He’s won at least 11 games in a season four times. Since posting a 4.02 ERA in his first full campaign as a starter in 2019, Fried’s season-long ERA hasn’t finished above 3.25.
His career accomplishments also include two All-Star Game selections, three Gold Glove Awards and a World Series title in 2021. If the Red Sox reel him in, it would improve a group that performed well in 2024. Boston’s rotation finished with baseball’s seventh-best rotation ERA at 3.81.
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