Will This Be a Braves Star's Last Season With the Team?

Atlanta Braves starter Max Fried is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

For the first time since 2020, a pitcher other than Max Fried will be the Opening Day starter for the Atlanta Braves. Recently, the Braves announced that Spencer Strider will be the starter on Opening Day. Fried has been the Opening Day starter for the last three years. The last time Fried was not the Opening Day starter, it was Michael Soroka in 2020.

As most of you know, Fried will be a free agent at the end of the season. When it comes to the Atlanta Braves and re-signing their top players who are becoming free agents, the retention rate is not high. Just look at the last few big-name players from Atlanta to enter free agency. 

Dansby Swanson is playing with the Cubs, Freddie Freeman is a member of the Dodgers, Jorge Soler is in San Francisco, Kenley Jansen is in Boston, and we let Adam Duvall walk twice. The only two players that were approaching free agency that the Braves re-signed were Eddie Rosario and Marcell Ozuna, and only one of those guys (Ozuna) remains in Atlanta.

The odds are not in our favor in terms of re-signing Fried. That doesn't mean this will be his last season, though. Does Strider being named the Opening Day starter serve as a proverbial boot to tell Fried he can get out? I don't think that is the case either. This pitching rotation has the opportunity to be one of the best in the MLB. Strider, Fried, Sale, Morton, and for now, López. It is just a testament to the talent the Braves have on the mound.

As our own Lindsay Crosby pointed out on the Braves Today podcast, this could also have to do with rest. There are many different factors that weigh into why Strider is the starting pitcher on Opening Day, but none of them is any indication that Fried is gone at the end of the year. Business is business.

It's now or never on a contract extension for Max Fried