Well, the big Atlanta Braves news yesterday was that we know now what Max Fried is going to be making during the 2023 season. After it was reported late Friday that Max had his arbitration hearing, many were curious as how the arbitrator was going to handle a pitcher of Max's caliber especially since he was already a lock to beat what he was projected to get in arbitration as most experts had him getting a bit over $12 million going into the offseason.
We didn't have to wait long on Saturday to find out that Max lost his arbitration hearing and had his salary set at $13.5 million for the 2023 season. Max had filed at $15 million this go around. Thankfully that process is over and done with, but looking ahead a bit...it is becoming quite clear that his final year of arbitration is going to be quite expensive and any contract extension is going to be for some big bucks.
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It was quiet for the most part for the rest of Saturday on the Braves front, although we did get a great piece from Mark Bowman on Brian Snitker's path to becoming the Braves' manager. While Snit hasn't been managing for a long time, he has been in the Braves' organization for going on 47 years now which is a rarity. When his current contract runs out, he will be as old as Bobby Cox was when he retired. Just a reminder that as much as folks will want him around, it isn't crazy to think that he could retire after his contract is up.
MLB News
While he is a Met, it is still a bummer to see what prospect Matt Allan is having to go through. Allan was the Mets' third round pick back in 2019 and unfortunately he has barely pitched as a pro and that isn't going to change anytime soon. The team announced yesterday that Allan had to undergo a third UCL procedure in January as he had another setback on his way back to the mound. Sometimes baseball isn't fair.
The Dodgers also made a bit of news as they gave a contract extension through the 2024 season to their newest addition, Miguel Rojas. Rojas was a pesky member of the Marlins' lineup before getting traded to the Dodgers and gives them some defensive versatility and depth (although it sure doesn't seem like they need much of the latter).