You can add his new colleague to the long list of Braves Country residents expecting to see a contract extension for Max Fried before he tests free agency at the end of the season. The list starts at the very tip of south Florida and goes all the way to the Mason Dixon.
Chris Sale has only been with Max Fried for about a month during Spring Training, but he has already made an impression on him.
“He’s a great dude, great teammate,” Sale said. “An unbelievable competitor. Being able to hold down this rotation as long as he has is impressive. I’d like to keep him here for some years, but that’s not up to me.”
There is a perception throughout the league that Max Fried will eventually test free agency, and he will be gone at that point. In recent years, we’ve witnessed the same song and dance performed by the two Braves franchise faces. Dansby Swanson is currently in Chicago, while Freddie Freeman left for Los Angeles.
When it comes to the players he wishes to retain, Alex Anthopoulos has not been secretive about his strategy. In an attempt to sign them to a contract well below market value, he wants to extend them early. It’s happened with a great deal of elite players, so if it hasn’t happened before, it doesn’t appear likely to happen in the next six months.
The Aaron Nola incident from this past offseason is the one bright spot of optimism for Braves supporters. It is reported that the Braves made him an offer for a six-year contract that exceeded $160 million. That would have more than doubled the biggest free agency deal in franchise history.
Thus, it appears that the Braves are willing to invest their financial resources on the correct pitcher. Over the course of their careers, Aaron Nola might have been more resilient than Max Fried, but Fried has undoubtedly been the superior pitcher when healthy.
I don’t see why the Braves wouldn’t be willing to go a little higher with Fried, if they were prepared to go that far with Nola. They have money to spend, and if there’s one concern regarding the future of this team, it lies with the rotation. Inking Fried to a long-term contract would put all of those concerns to rest.