Max Fried inked a historic eight-year, $218 million contract with the New York Yankees this offseason. He was Brian Cashman’s primary response to Juan Soto’s departure, giving the Yankees a dynamic, left-handed ace to work behind Gerrit Cole in the rotation for years to come.
Well, Cole is done for the season after an unfortunate elbow injury, but Fried has picked up the slack (and then some) as New York’s top arm.
We cannot hand out the Cy Young award after three starts, but Fried is on the right track. He has a 1.88 ERA and 1.17 WHIP so far, logging 28 strikeouts across 24 innings.
New York desperately needs Fried’s high-level output. The rest of the rotation is rather dire right now, so whenever Fried can step on the bump and guarantee a win, it’s useful — especially in such a competitive division.
That said, the Atlanta Braves have to be feeling some type of way about Fried’s success in pinstripes. It became clear over time that Fried was never going to re-sign with the Braves, but that could go down as one of Alex Anthopoulos’ biggest missteps. He never pays sticker price for All-Stars, but maybe he should’ve made an exception for their homegrown star.
Fried would certainly help sand the rough edges of Atlanta’s rotation right about now.
Max Fried’s hot start for Yankees has Braves fans dreaming of what could have been
The Braves are dead last in the division at 5-12. Only the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox have worse records. That is not the company one wants to keep.
Unfortunately for those with a rooting interest in other NL contenders, however, the Braves are going to be fine. Several injuries derailed the pitching staff early in the season, but things are starting to shape up. Spencer Strider’s return on Wednesday was a major step in the right direction.
At their peak, Atlanta will have quite possibly the best three-man run of starters in MLB. Strider, Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach all seem capable of putting up All-Star and maybe even Cy Young numbers. Reynaldo López is due back eventually, too. This Braves rotation will be a-okay if their health holds up.
That said, after letting both Fried and Charlie Morton walk in free agency, the back end of Atlanta’s rotation remains vulnerable. A.J. Smith-Shawver isn’t starting material — not yet, at least. Nor is Bryce Elder, who continues to toss a few too many meatballs when he’s out there.
A five-man gauntlet of Strider, Sale, Schwellenbach, López and Grant Holmes sounds awfully good, though. Again, health is the major factor. Holmes went 7.2 innings deep and allowed just two hits in his last outing. The Braves are pushing his pitch count and the results aren’t wavering. He looks the part of a viable fifth starter for a postseason contender.
That said, just imagine Fried in Holmes’ spot: another fireballing lefty behind Sale, giving Atlanta four All-Stars and a future All-Star in Schwellenbach. Any and all anxiety around the Braves rotation would vanish if Fried were in the mix. For a team with World Series aspirations, one has to imagine the extra cost would’ve been worth it.
Fried, in all likelihood, is going to finish his career in the Bronx. He spent eight years with the Braves, and is slated for eight years with the Yankees. When all is said and done, it’ll be fascinating to see which club he’s most associated with.
