Braves Rumors: Max Fried-Freddie Freeman comp, Chris Sale hype, NL East trade buzz
- This Max Fried comparison to Freddie Freeman is not great.
- Chris Sale's hype might be getting just a touch out of hand.
- A pair of NL East stars of rival teams could be dealt before the trade deadline.
By John Buhler
With spring training one day closer, Atlanta Braves fans are hoping, wondering, if this year is going to be the year. The 2023 team was one of the best regular-season teams I have ever seen. Unfortunately, it was closer to the 2001 Seattle Mariners than the 1984 Detroit Tigers, a juggernaut in the heat, but one that cooled off considerably once the weather started to change. Onto next year...
The good news for Braves Country is Atlanta projects to be once again on a shortlist of teams who can realistically win the World Series. They return the deepest and most talented roster in baseball. The starting rotation looks to be much improved for various reasons. While they did lose key pieces of their coaching staff, this is about as complete of a team across the sport. This team is excellent.
So while we wait until spring training, or at least until Conference Championship Sunday in the NFL to arrive in earnest tomorrow, help yourself to another healthy helping of some incredibly delicious Braves rumors. What we are hearing is what y'all need to hear. Like Waystar Royco, we hear for you. We are also here for you. If you need Braves rumors, this is Rubeus Hagrid's hut, it is the place to be.
From Max Fried to Chris Sale to NL East rivals teams about to go kaputt, we have rumors for you.
Braves rumors: NL East rivals about to get worse after these trades
We can thank Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report for this one. He curated a handful of delicious baseball rumors across MLB. While none of them are directly tied to the Braves, two of them should have you intrigued. They have everything to do with two stars from division rival teams possibly being traded at the deadline: Pete Alonso of the New York Mets and Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins. Whoa!
While Rymer thinks the Mets should be much-improved next year, it is still hard to see them being any better than the third-best team in the NL East behind Atlanta and Philadelphia. If that is the case, or they are worse and out of the mix entirely, Alonso could be dealt in his contract year. Because he is a Scott Boras client, it means he is not going to sign an extension during the year and will go to market.
As for Arraez, it is a bit more complicated that he gets dealt, but also a tad more likely. He is under contract for the next two seasons, but with how bad the Marlins might be, it might serve them to trade one of the best hitters in the game to replenish their incredibly weak farm system. Miami will reportedly listen to any and all trade offers, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Okay!
Not having to deal with either Alonso or Arraez in division would be a massive boost for the Braves.