The Atlanta Braves are faced with the potential departure of left-handed starting pitcher Max Fried in free agency. Returning to Atlanta is not viewed as the best situation for him.
Fried was recently included in a top-10 best and worst landing spots for the top-10 free agents on Bleacher Report. Columnist Joel Reuter named the Los Angeles Dodgers as the best landing spot for Fried. The ideal scenario here is Fried follows Freddie Freeman out west.
Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox were named the worst. At least the Braves have not being the worst going for them.
Reuter wrote that Fried would diversify the Dodgers extremly right-handed heavy starting rotation.
"Slotting in the left-handed Max Fried would help bring some balance to the staff," Reuter wrote, "and the Dodgers are in a position to offer a high AAV, a short-term or a long-term deal with more guaranteed money. The 30-year-old also has a wealth of playoff experience, albeit with mixed results."
Not sure how that makes the Dodgers the best landing spot for Fried. That sounds more like why he would be great for the Dodgers. It's not even mentioned that he is from the Los Angeles area. That would have made for a good point.
There is the argument that the Dodgers are a good landing spot for him because the Dodgers need a lefty. Fair enough. However, more details on why he specifically would benefit from going to LA would have been great.
Reuters isn't wrong. He would be great. Fried provides a quality arm that can pitch deep into ballgames.
The logic for why he wouldn't be a good fit for the Red Sox doesn't make much sense either. He mentions Fried's injury history - a valid point. However, Reteur adds that the Red Sox "might prefer someone with a longer track record of chewing through innings if they are going to make the type of investment it will likely take to sign him."
Well, when he's healthy, Fried is certainly going to chew innings. He tossed more complete games in 2024 than the entire Red Sox team combined - two complete games to one.
In 29 starts in 2024, Fried had a 3.25 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, a 3.5 WAR and a 128 ERA+. He was listed as the seventh-best free agent this offseason in this Bleacher Report story. He will certianly have many suitors on the open market this winter and will likely get himself a solid contract as well.
