3 aces Braves should already have an eye on to replace Max Fried
By Mark Powell
If the Atlanta Braves do trade Max Fried — which doesn’t seem very likely — then they should replace him with another pitcher of his caliber.
FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray threw the coldest of water on some odd Max Fried trade chatter which surfaced about three weeks ago: “The Braves are in win-now mode and by signing most of their young nucleus to long-term, team-friendly contracts, have payroll flexibility and don’t need to trade Fried. Will they listen? Sure. All teams listen on every player. But a trade is highly unlikely this offseason.”
Buster Olney of ESPN also stated there was little chance of the Braves trading Fried, especially considering he’s under contract until the 2025 offseason.
Fried does have three more arbitration-eligible years, though, and that will require extensive and sometimes unhappy negotiations. Is there any chance Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos would punt on all of it in favor of another ace?
Fried finished second in NL Cy Young voting this year, and won his third straight Gold Glove. There’s a reason he gets Greg Maddux comparisons.
Max Fried replacements: Braves could stay in-house with Spencer Strider
Does Anthopoulos really have to make a move at all?
Atlanta already signed Spencer Strider through the 2030 offseason, which was another genius decision by a front office which is used to locking up young assets prior to their arbitration years. Fried, of course, is already in his, which makes agreeing to a long-term deal all the more difficult.
Strider finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting this season thanks to an 11-5 record paired with a 2.67 ERA and .995 WHIP. He’s one of the best young pitchers in all of baseball, and has electric stuff. Should he keep improving, Strider has ace-level potential, and won’t miss a beat if or when the Braves tab him to replace a player like Fried.
The more ideal option would be having them both in the rotation, but Anthopoulos often likes to deal with potential problems ahead of time, hence any and all Fried trade talk.