Max Fried contract projection could make him surprisingly affordable for the Braves

The Atlanta Braves might actually be able to afford Max Fried after all. Truth be told, they always have. This team prints money because it has a national fan base backed up by the cash cow that is The Battery outside of Truist Park. Because the Braves are now a publicly traded company after branching off from Liberty Media in some capacity, they can always raise capital, just like the Green Bay Packers.

I wrote about this on Monday regarding Fried. If the Braves were to somehow re-sign him, it might cost these five players off last year's team a roster spot. In truth, none of them were probably coming back anyway. All of them are either getting up their in age or came over in as a late-season addition in some capacity. But now, I came across this... Apparently, Fried's projected contract isn't too massive.

Alex Lord of Sports Talk ATL outlined what the projected contract number could look like for the Braves. At $22.7 million per year, per Spotrac, we would be looking potentially a six-year deal worth $136 million to retain Fried. It may be more about length of a contract than AAV, but we know what Alex Anthopoulos is all about. Given the fact that Fried is over 30-years-old, he probably will walk.

The big question is if Anthopoulos lets Fried walk, how will he use Liberty Media's cache of cash?

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Atlanta Braves can actually afford to pay Max Fried market value contract

I think from a starting rotation standpoint, the Braves could be in good shape if Fried walks and Charlie Morton retires. All-Stars Chris Sale and Reynaldo Lopez are under contract, as is Spencer Schwellenbach. You get Spencer Strider back at some point, and baby, you've got a stew goin'! This team will also get Austin Riley back to start the year and Ronald Acuña Jr. returning at some point.

The have an abundance of riches in the outfield, but may need to address shortstop and the bullpen with this freed up cash. It would serve the Braves to look for an upgrade over Orlando Arcia at short. He makes virtually nothing and will be entering the final season of a three-year deal. Arcia was great two years ago, but regressed to the mean considerably this past fall. Also, Sean Murphy is a problem.

When it comes to retaining Fried, can the Braves do better? Maybe, but upon further inspection of the high-end starting caliber pitchers hitting free agency, most of them are 30-plus, including the one guy I would want not named Fried in southpaw Blake Snell of the San Francisco Giants. Snell is slightly older, but a little more clutch in the postseason. He has also won multiple Cy Young in his MLB career.

The ball is undeniably in Anthopoulos' court to keep Fried. Just because he can, doesn't mean he will.