Padres Prediction Has San Diego Signing Former Cy Young Winner in Blockbuster Move

Maren Angus-Coombs | 16 Hours Ago

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Most of the Hot Stove talk has been about international free agent Roki Sasaki, slugger Juan Soto, and pitchers Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell.

However, there is a left-handed pitcher named Max Fried who would like a word.

Any team in need of a starting pitcher who misses out on Burnes will likely turn their attention to Fried. The Southern California native is expected to attract significant interest, with Jon Heyman of the New York Post reporting last week that four teams from the AL East are expected to be contenders.

“The Yankees checked on the free-agent ace pitchers — Max Fried, Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell — but it remains uncertain whether they would do Soto and an ace pitcher, too,” Heyman wrote. “The Orioles, Red Sox and Blue Jays are all in on at least Fried. Boston is looking to upgrade its pitching and they don’t have a lefty, so Fried could make sense.”

While Heyman thinks Fried is headed East, Jesse Yomtov of USA Today Sports believes the lefty could be headed home to Southern California and wrote the following:

"Originally drafted by San Diego and ultimately traded to the Braves for Justin Upton in 2014, the Southern California native would be a good fit with Joe Musgrove set to miss 2025 after Tommy John surgery."

ESPN's Jeff Passan thinks Fried could go to either coast.

“San Francisco and Baltimore will be part of the mix, too. And don’t forget the Dodgers, who are targeting at least one high-end starter,” Passan writes.“Fried, 31 on Opening Day, looks likely to get the second-largest guarantee for a pitcher this winter after posting a major-league-best 2.81 ERA over the past five seasons.”

Fried, 31, made 29 starts for the Braves last season, posting a 3.25 ERA (3.33 FIP) over 174.1 innings. His 2.81 ERA over the past five seasons is the best among all major league starters.

Lucas Giolito, Fried’s former teammate at Harvard-Westlake, recently shared that he’s told Fried everything he can about Boston. A new report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Tuesday only fueled the speculation about Fried potentially heading to Boston.

"He's exactly the sort of pitcher the Red Sox would like to anchor their rotation as their ascent back to contention begins," Passan wrote. "Toronto is in. San Francisco and Baltimore will be part of the mix, too."