The day has finally come for better or worse. After years of back and forth as to whether or not the Atlanta Braves would be able to extend Max Fried, the Braves decided to give the qualifying offer to Fried after the 2024 season and the deadline for his decision has arrived.
Given that Fried is already highly sought after by a number of contenders on the free agent market, it was basically a given that he was going to decline the QO and become a free agent. While some guys who are more borderline could benefit from signing the one year deal and trying their hands at free agency next year, Fried is in the camp that is going to get paid either way.
However, the news that Fried is a free agent now as one of 12 players declining the qualifying offer still stings as the likelihood fans won't see him in a Braves uniform again just got a lot higher.
Source: Max Fried declined the qualifying offer.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) November 19, 2024
Braves' Max Fried declines the qualifying offer as expected, becomes a free agent for the first time
While some certainly hoped that Fried would turn into a star when the Braves originally acquired him, few thought he was destined for the greatness he achieved in Atlanta. In his eight seasons with the Braves, Fried posted a 3.07 ERA in almost 900 innings of work. A two-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, and with a pair of top 5 Cy Young finishes, Fried's tenure with the Braves will go down as one of the best in franchise history even if it doesn't feel like it right now.
There is a small modicum of hope that the Braves could find a way to bring Fried back even with this development. Declining the qualifying offer in Fried's case is just a formality, Atlanta does have the advantage of not having to price in the QO penalties when negotiating with him, and the Braves have already cleared a lot of money off their books this offseason.
Unfortunately, the sad truth is that if Fried was likely to stick around, an extension would have already been agreed to. The likely course of events next is that Fried will shop himself around, get some life-changing offers, then he will come back around to the Braves to see if they can match it similar to what happened with Dansby Swanson. Atlanta will then, in all likelihood, decline to match it and wish him nothing but the best and the two sides will depart in gratitude for each other.
The business of baseball stinks. Fans want their favorite players to stay and for their teams to go out and sign every top player that becomes available. However, there are finite dollars to spread around and with Fried's age and injury history, there is real reason to not give him the dollars and years he seems to covet and hopefully receives. That doesn't make moments like this hurt any less. One just hopes wherever Fried ends up doesn't turn him into a villain.