Max Fried shows surprising loyalty to Braves in early free-agent suitors

As much as the Atlanta Braves would like to keep Max Fried, there's no guarantee they'll be willing to meet his asking price. As Alex Anthopoulos has shown in recent years, he's not afraid to part ways with incumbents – just ask Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson – to save some money in the interim and improve the on-field product later.

If the Braves were to let Fried walk, they'd have a number of backup plans to sign in free agency. Atlanta could alsu use a long-term answer at shortstop. There are real concerns with this team, and they go beyond keeping Fried.

One concern of letting Fried reach the open market, of course, is where he might land. The New York Mets need starting pitching, as do the World Series champion Dodgers. Both teams are primary competition for the Braves if they hope to win the pennant and more in 2025.

So far, though, Fried has shown loyalty to the Braves (though likely unintentional) in his eventual landing spot.

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Braves main competition for Max Fried is in the AL East

Per MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox are all interested in Fried. Each team has a starting pitching need, for various reasons. Baltimore could lose Corbin Burnes early in free agency. Toronto offers no real threat atop its rotation. And the Boston Red Sox are seemingly 'in' on just about everyone because Craig Breslow and John Henry haven't heard the price tag yet.

Just last season, Fried had a 3.25 ERA, made the NL All-Star team and consistently ranks among the league leaders in that category. As he ages, Fried should be a good bet to maintain his high success rate, as he relies on location rather than velocity and spin rate.

Fried is a California native, so there is fear among Braves fans that he could end up with the Dodgers. While not the worst-case scenario – that would be the Mets or Phillies – adding Fried to an already-loaded Dodgers roster would make the aspect of overcoming LA and a talented NL West division overall implausible for the Braves.