Max Fried’s farewell message to Atlanta will have Braves fans cutting onions

Max Fried recently signed with the New York Yankees on a historic eight-year, $218 million contract. If he serves the entire length of the contract in a Yankees uniform, Fried will have split his big-league career equally between Atlanta and New York.

That feels almost impossible to fathom. But, after eight strong seasons with the Atlanta Braves, Fried is on to greener pastures. The Yankees broke the bank to an extent Atlanta was never going to match. The Braves are in need of pitching depth, but there's enough talent in the Atlanta rotation to justify letting Fried walk. Especially when the price is so high.

All the same, this loss stings for Braves fans. Fried was a clubhouse favorite and a World Series champ. He will be fondly remembered in the Peach State for many years to come. Fried will also hold deep affection for the Braves organization and its fans. He posted a very heartfelt goodbye on Instagram this Saturday.

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Max Fried pens classy goodbye to Braves fandom after signing with Yankees

Fried accomplished a heck of a lot in his eight years with Atlanta, including two All-Star bids, three Gold Glove awards, a pair of top-five Cy Young finishes, and even a Silver Slugger, from back when pitchers were hitters in the National League. The talented southpaw finishes his Braves tenure with a 3.07 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 884.1 innings of work. He put 863 strikeouts on his ledger, starting in 151 of 168 major-league appearances.

The Yankees are getting a good one. There has been some hand-wringing over Fried's 5.10 postseason ERA, but he's a confirmed champion with plenty of winning DNA. The Yankees will tab Fried as their No. 2 starter behind Gerrit Cole, establishing one of the best 1-2 punches in the American League.

Fried has a deep pitch arsenal, leaning on location control and movement, as opposed to fast-and-straight velocity. That should allow him to age with grace. The 30-year-old finished last season with a groundball rate in the 96th percentile and an average exit velocity in the 95th percentile, per Baseball Savant. Those are strong indicators. Fried keeps the ball in play and he avoids the meat of the bat.

Now, is paying Fried almost $28 million in his age-38 season ideal? Maybe not, but the Yankees are paying upfront for what should be an excellent half-decade or so from an established ace. After losing Juan Soto to their crosstown rivals, the Yankees are wise to double down on pitching. So much of contending nowadays comes down to a team's ability to stymie explosive offenses.

The Braves, meanwhile, are left searching for a replacement. After striking out on Garrett Crochet, one has to imagine Alex Anthopoulos has at least one trick up his sleeve. Spencer Strider, Chris Sale, and Reynaldo Lopez comprise an excellent core, but the Braves need starting depth — badly.