Dodgers Players Had Dinner With All-Star Free Agent in LA, Sparking Speculation

Maren Angus-Coombs | 5 Hours Ago

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Max Fried, the veteran left-handed pitcher, received a qualifying offer from the Atlanta Braves on Monday, but he is now poised to explore more lucrative opportunities as a free agent.

Fried, who has been an essential part of the Braves' pitching staff for several years, could soon be heading to a new team. Among the clubs potentially interested in his services include the Los Angeles Dodgers, though many baseball insiders are not entirely convinced they will pursue him.

Fried was seen having dinner with several Dodgers players in Los Angeles on Saturday night, which sparked speculation about a possible move. Among the Dodgers in attendance were his high school teammate Jack Flaherty, first baseman Freddie Freeman, shortstop Miguel Rojas, reliever Daniel Hudson, second baseman Gavin Lux, right fielder Mookie Betts, and utility man Tommy Edman.

Max fried went to celebrate with all the dodger players Saturday night .. I kept getting clips of all the guys leaving this place and I just got this one of max fried LMFAO he’s such a dodger I’ve never been more sure pic.twitter.com/uR24MofD2A

— Dreejann2.0 (@0Dreejann2) November 5, 2024

This gathering has fueled rumors, but despite Fried’s status as one of the top free agents, many experts think the Dodgers might not be his eventual destination. R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports mentioned the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets as more likely landing spots for the lefty.

“We wanted to print a complete list of left-handed starting pitchers with a better ERA+ than Fried since the beginning of the 2020 season, but we ran into a problem when we went to compile the names. You see, no sinister hurler who had a decent amount of innings (min. 200 combined) actually placed ahead of him in that metric,” Anderson wrote.

“Oh well. Blame Fried’s sustained excellence on his ability to manage contact. He ranked in the 95th percentile in average exit velocity last season, and he did it while generating nearly 60 percent ground balls for a second consecutive year. The biggest knock on Fried is his innings count, as he’s cleared the 180 threshold just once in his career. Given the league’s direction over the past decade, we’re not inclined to think that’ll hurt him.”

Fried has been a cornerstone of the Braves’ pitching staff since his debut in 2017. His presence has been a major factor in the Braves' six consecutive National League East titles from 2018 to 2023, as well as their seventh consecutive postseason appearance in 2023. He finished fifth in Cy Young voting in 2019 and second in 2022.

His sustained excellence earned him two All-Star selections, and he has posted a strong 2.80 ERA across 73 starts over the last three seasons. These accomplishments have solidified his status as one of the premier pitchers available in free agency, and he is sure to receive plenty of attention from teams looking to bolster their rotations.