In December 2014, the Braves acquired Max Fried from San Diego.
Since then, Fried has only known the Braves. He adored Atlanta, the organization, and the fans. The Braves and their supporters adored Fried.
Despite this, Fried becomes the latest great to leave Atlanta because he received a bigger contract than the Braves were willing to offer him. Freddie Freeman. Danby Swanson.
Now Fried.
Fried, who turns 31 in January, will earn $27.25 million annually. He will be 39 years old when his contract expires.
And when you look at the conditions of Fried’s new contract with the Yankees, you know one thing for certain: the Braves would never pay him that much.
Fried will be remembered for throwing six scoreless innings in Game 6 of the 2021 World Series, helping the Braves defeat the Astros. In that iconic performance, Fried had his right ankle stepped on while covering first base in the first inning, but finished six scoreless innings after that. In some ways, this was Fried: he was often at his finest after overcoming difficulty. He’s a great competitor.
As the winter began, it appeared that the Braves were not a viable candidate for Fried. With starting pitching salaries at an all-time high, Fried clearly priced himself out of what the Braves were willing to offer him.
Fried, who debuted in 2017, was one of three Braves players who had been present for the entire run of six consecutive National League East titles and a World Series. The others: Ozzie Albies and A.J. Minter. Now, Fried is gone. Minter is a free agent.
Fried’s Braves tenure ends like this: A 3.07 ERA over 168 regular-season games – 151 of them starts – and 884 1/3 total innings.
