Max Fried makes case for third Gold Glove with 94 MPH laser

Let’s give Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried the Gold Glove award and just be done with it already!

As if there was any competition for the award, Max Fried pretty much assured us all that he will be winning the Gold Glove for the third season in a row with this terrific play off the mound Thursday.

Fried had been in concussion protocol after accidentally slamming his head into the Citi Field turf up in Queens previously. However, the Atlanta Braves ace pitched a gem vs. the New York Mets in his first game back off the IL. He outdueled Jacob deGrom, as the Braves won the series-clincher 3-2 over New York on Thursday. This play by Fried had everybody out of their seats at Truist Park.

Check out Fried gunning down Mets speedster Brandon Nimmo by a quarter of a step on this play.

Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried reaffirms he will win Gold Glove No. 3 this season

While Fried will forever be remembered as the man who won Game 6 over Houston last October, he is one of the best athletes on the entire team. Had he not decided to emulate Sandy Koufax and Clayton Kershaw professionally, odds are, Fried would be in a big-league outfield somewhere, too. Though his days of hitting walk-off base knocks are over, he will still flash the leather on occasion.

Fried may be only hitting his prime in his late 20s, but he is already racking up the personal accolades. So far, he is a two-time Gold Glove winner, the last Silver Slugger pitcher ever in the Senior Circuit, a 2022 NL All-Star, and above all else, a World Series Champion. With presumably a third Gold Glove coming this offseason, the next thing he needs besides a ring is a new contract.

Fried has two more years of arbitration left on his deal with the Braves before he hits free agency ahead of the 2025 MLB season. Although he was not drafted by the Braves out of high school, they are the only team he has played for professionally at the big-league level. After getting a deal done with Dansby Swanson, Fried has to be the next Braves star for Alex Anthopoulos to re-sign.

Simply, the Braves do not beat the Mets Thursday without Fried’s heroics on, and off, the mound.