3 doomsday Max Fried landing spots that would haunt the Braves

The Atlanta Braves' season ended in bitter disappointment with a first-round sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres. It was the season from hell for Atlanta, defined by countless injuries and miserable underperformance from countless stars. Marcell Ozuna and a killer pitching staff did all they could, but in the end, Atlanta just couldn't stack up to the National League heavyweights with half its roster on ice.

Next season should be different. Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña, Austin Riley, and so forth will all be back in the lineup, presumably at full strength. Odds are Matt Olson won't slump so badly again. Neither with Michael Harris. It's only up from here.

That said, the Braves also stand to potentially lose a few key pieces — none more important than upcoming free agent Max Fried. The hard-throwing lefty has been negotiating in vain with the Braves front office for years now. Perhaps something gets hammered out at the final buzzer, but all signs point to Fried landing a lucrative contract with a new team.

Atlanta should have the pitching depth to survive Fried's departure, but Charlie Morton is also expected to leave via retirement. All of a sudden it gets dicey. Chris Sale is another year older, Strider is coming back from Tommy John surgery, and Reynaldo Lopez probably never pitches that well again. If Fried leaves, there's a world in which Atlanta's rotation crumbles.

To make matters worse, some of the most popular hypothetical landing spots for Fried are abject nightmares for the Braves fandom. Here are a few plausible landing spots that would send Atlanta fans into a tailspin.

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3. Just imagine Max Fried joining the Phillies' loaded rotation

This is admittedly far-fetched, but we've heard enough smoke about the Philadelphia Phillies targeting a fifth starter to warrant a mention. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on the Phils' radar last winter. Garrett Crochet was floated as a target at the trade deadline. What's to stop Philadelphia from dialing up a former rival?

The real answer? Money. The Phillies have already paid Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, and (gulp) Taijuan Walker. Ranger Suarez is up next. The Phillies need a better fifth starter, but in-house options like Spencer Turnbull or Andrew Painter could prove more cost-effective than shelling out $150 million-plus on Fried.

Dave Dombrowski has an aggressive streak in the GM chair, though. He has talked about prioritizing depth over more star-power, but the Phillies' track record of targeting high-wattage stars is difficult to ignore. Fried would shore up Philadelphia's rotation in a big way, forming inarguably the best five-man collective in the National League.

Philadelphia's rotation would lean a little hard on lefties with Fried, Wheeler, Sanchez, and Suarez, but when there's that much talent in the mix, you roll with it. This would probably be the worst possible outcome for Atlanta's purposes, especially in terms of postseason implications, but it's also the least likely.

2. Max Fried can keep the Mets rotation afloat after NLCS run

The New York Mets could lose Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana to free agency this winter, raising serious questions about the future of New York's rotation. Steve Cohen has the deepest pockets in baseball, but his No. 1 priority this offseason will be prying Juan Soto out of the Bronx. If the Mets' pitching options trickle away while the focus is on Soto, it could get iffy for New York next season.

That said, Cohen's pockets are deep enough to break the bank on Soto and go after a high-leverage starter. Fried would presumably lead the Mets rotation in tandem with Kodai Senga, giving New York a one-two punch to rival the National League's best.

The Mets will need to successfully navigate a complex offseason, but there's no reason to doubt New York's competitive aspirations at this point. Francisco Lindor is a bonafide MVP candidate, their lineup depth and versatility shined in October, and Carlos Mendoza looks the part of a top-shelf manager.

Fried gives New York a much-needed boost — and this move keeps him in the Braves' own division. These are the outcomes the Braves would most like to avoid. It's one thing to lose Fried to the Boston Red Sox or something, a team they'll likely never face in October. Seeing Fried every other week in the regular season and potentially battling him in the NLDS, however, is a more alarming possibility.

1. Max Fried going to his hometown Dodgers could break baseball

Not to be dramatic, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are a threat to the sanctity of our beloved game.

Okay, that's a little harsh, but the Dodgers' $1 billion offseason has seemingly launched them to a World Series victory. It could be the first of many. The Dodgers' offense was always going to outperform the competition, but to watch Los Angeles slice and dice its way through opposing offenses with Tyler Glasnow hurt and Shohei Ohtani rendered full-time DH is a bit spooky.

Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Walker Buehler have all earned their moments in the sun during this Dodgers run. Glasnow and Ohtani join the mix next season, with Bobby Miller due for another leap and several potential free agents on Los Angeles' radar. None are more obvious a fit than Max Fried, who grew up in LA and attended the same high school as Flaherty. It would be a homecoming, with the added benefit of joining the best team in the National League.

If the Dodgers enter next season with Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and an elite rotation, we might as well call it off. That's not true, of course, as baseball is inherently unpredictable, but it will be extremely difficult to pick against the Dodgers at any point. Fried's postseason struggles are well-documented, but the Dodgers can insulate him better than any other team.

The idea of watching Fried in rival colors on the east coast is upsetting, but Braves fans would almost have to prefer it to Fried joining the Dodgers. That team is good enough as is. How much help does Ohtani need?