Braves’ best addition had nothing to do with trade deadline

The best move the Atlanta Braves made at the trade deadline was not messing around with the rotation at all.

All Atlanta Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos needed to do at the trade deadline was to trust his gut, be patient and let things sort themselves out.

While addressing some minor bullpen concerns were expected, there was some great debate as to if the Braves should look at improving the back-end of their strong starting rotation. Thankfully, Anthopoulos saw help on the way in ace pitcher Max Fried’s triumphant return. He had not pitched for three months. In his first game back vs. the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon, he was electric!

Here is what Braves skipper Brian Snitker had to say about Fried’s return to the starting rotation.

"“It’s like making a huge trade to get him back. He’s been one of the top starting pitchers in the league for a while now. You miss a guy like that … That was something else. I really didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think he’d be that sharp. That was pretty good and very impressive what he did.”"

Fried was actually blown away by his performance in his first game back with the Atlanta ball club.

"“I felt sharper than expected. A lot of nervous energy. I was looking forward to this day for a long time. Really just tried to simplify it and keep us in there as long as we can. These guys have been doing so good for so long. I just wanted to seamlessly fit in and not mess anything up.”"

Fried threw 72 pitches over the course of six shutout innings, surrendering only three singles, while striking out eight batters. It looks like the best team in baseball just got even better, man.

The Atlanta Braves’ best trade deadline acquisition was getting Max Fried back

In the early stages of the game, Fried went toe-to-toe with Cubs star Kyle Hendricks. Then in the top of the fourth inning, the Braves bats woke up in a big way. Atlanta batted around and plated seven. The game was too far out of reach for the Cubs to even think about catching the Braves. An abundance of run support allowed for Fried to pitch his final three innings with great confidence.

This was one of those starts where everyone was hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. Balls fly out of the Friendly Confines anyway the wind blows, so for a pitcher who was sidelined with forearm issues that decreased his velocity, this could have been a recipe for disaster. Instead, Fried showed us all once again he has the mental makeup, and the stuff, to be a big-game pitcher.

Overall, one of the team’s biggest perceived weaknesses has been lessened greatly with Fried’s return. Yes, we still want to see what last year’s 20-game winner in Kyle Wright can do in the coming weeks. But for now, Atlanta can feel incredibly confident about a four-man rotation come October with Fried, Bryce Elder, Charlie Morton and Spencer Strider leading the way to contention.

Despite being on a pitch count, Fried’s return to the Atlanta rotation went better than expected.