Dodgers’ biggest competition for Max Fried could come from an unexpected rival

With the 2024 season officially over, Max Fried is a free agent. Given Alex Anthopoulos' hesitance to spend major money on free agents, it feels as if Fried's tenure with the Atlanta Braves has come to an end, opening the door for him to sign elsewhere.

Fried is a frontline starter who is sure to garner tons of interest around the league, but he has been heavily linked to the Los Angeles Dodgers even before becoming a free agent, and it isn't hard to see why. The Dodgers have a ton of money, could use more starting pitching given how injury prone their rotation is, and perhaps most importantly, Fried is from Southern California. The fit makes too much sense, and the Dodgers are seen as potential favorites to sign him for that exact reason.

With that being said, though, Fried is going to garner tons of interest as mentioned previously. We've already seen teams like the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays be connected to Fried this offseason, and based on what's gone down thus far, there could be a potential unexpected suitor to join the mix - the Los Angeles Angels.

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Angels make more sense for Max Fried than given credit for

On paper, this makes little sense. The Angels have nine straight losing seasons under their belt and haven't made the postseason once since 2014. To make matters worse, their 63-99 record in 2024 was the worst mark in franchise history. That one fact makes them an unlikely Fried landing spot in its own right. When digging deeper, though, the Angels might be more of a threat than they're given credit for.

Despite the obvious need to officially tear it all down and rebuild, owner Arte Moreno has made it abundantly clear that he expects the Angels to compete in 2025. That has led to an already active offseason for Perry Minasian and Co.

The Angels traded for Jorge Soler, and signed Kevin Newman, Kyle Hendricks, and Travis d'Arnaud to their roster. None of these are blockbuster moves, but they do all make the team at least a little bit better. The key addition to focus on here with Fried is that of d'Arnaud.

d'Arnaud spent each of his last five seasons with the Braves as Fried's teammate. Fried has had d'Arnaud as his catcher in 68 of his 168 career appearances, 42 more than any other catcher. In those 68 appearances, Fried has pitched to a 2.62 ERA in 409.1 innings of work. It's safe to say these two have tremendous chemistry when working together.

The Angels might not be the defending World Series champions like the Dodgers, but they do have a lot to offer him. They've got d'Arnaud in town, should have tons of money to spend, and offer Fried the same chance to return back home to Southern California.

The Angels might not be quite as appealing as the Dodgers, and shouldn't be seen as the favorites to land him, but they shouldn't be overlooked. They might have a better shot to land him than initially expected.