Sure sounds like Max Fried's departure from Braves was a long time coming

The Atlanta Braves have seen their fair share of franchise stars leave the organization through free agency. Freddie Freeman left for the Los Angeles Dodgers after Atlanta won the World Series in 2021. Shortstop Dansby Swanson signed a lucrative deal with the Chicago Cubs after the 2022 season. Two years after Swanson's exit, starting pitcher Max Fried is no longer part of the Braves.

On Tuesday, multiple reports indicated that Fried was signing an eight-year, $218 million contract with the New York Yankees. With that contract, Fried now has the largest contract of any left-handed pitcher in MLB history.

It was expected after the Braves' season ended that Fried would hit the open market, and probably wouldn't return. After all, he waws one of the top starting pitching options available, alongside Corbin Burnes. As it turns out, an exit seemed like a certainty longer ago than this year.

MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote an article detailing Fried's departure from the Braves. Bowman revealed that he spoke with an agent before the 2023 season about what Fried could get in free agency. The agent's response was "It doesn’t matter, he’s not re-signing with the Braves."

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Braves were seemingly long-prepared to lose Max Fried in free agency

That is quite an eye-opening statement by that agent. As it turns out, the Braves entered this offseason with no plans of bringing back Fried, per Bowman.

"While Fried’s departure might stir memories, this development doesn’t change the Braves’ offseason approach. He was never considered a candidate to fill the team’s need for a starting pitcher," writes Bowman. "Chris Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Schwellenbach will anchor the rotation until Spencer Strider returns from elbow surgery near the end of April. Ian Anderson, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and AJ Smith-Shawver serve as rotation depth."

The Braves have had a reputaton of getting the most out of their pitchers when they arrive in Atlanta. Look no further than Chris Sale, who the team acquired in a team last offseason, and he turned back the clock to win his first-ever Cy Young award. Reynaldo Lopez went from the bullpen to the rotation and did a solid job.

Even with the depth options they have and with Spencer Strider returning at some point next April, Bowman says that adding a pitcher "might be prudent." The Braves haven't really been linked to starting pitchers at the MLB Winter Meetings. Bowman did report back in November that Nathan Eovaldi was atop the Braves' wishlist. But on Tuesday, FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray reported that Eovaldi agreed to terms on a contract to return to the Texas Rangers, which turned out to be for three years, worth $75 million.

The Braves have been planning to be without Fried at the start of their rotation in 2025. We'll see if they will look to replace his production in free agency or in-house.