Braves News: Max Fried had arbitration hearing Friday, decision expected Saturday
By Eric Cole
The Atlanta Braves were able to resolve most of their arbitration cases before the deadline to file arbitration figures this offseason. Between long-term extensions with their young guys and one year deals avoiding arbitration, the organization has done a pretty good job of avoiding arbitration hearings in recent years. However, one player that has consistently gone to arbitration hearings since he has been eligible has been Max Fried.
Again, this isn't a huge surprise. Max has consistently overperformed during the early portions of his team control and has wanted to be compensated for his efforts. Last year, the gap between the team and Max was pretty small in terms of filing figures and Max won his case and was awarded a $6.85 deal vs. the $6.6 million the team filed at. However, the gap this year is significantly bigger. It was reported that Max had his arbitration hearing on Friday to see if he is going to be awarded the $15 million deal he is seeking or if the Braves will be able to get away with paying him $13.5 million.
Max Fried's arbitration case against the Atlanta Braves to be announced on Saturday
The same report noted that it is expected that the decision on Max's arbitration case will be announced on Saturday (2/4). The figure that Max gets could set the stage for even higher stakes next offseason which will be Max's last year of arbitration and is likely to be VERY costly in terms of next year's payroll. If Max wins his case this year and then shoves as expected on the mound in 2023, he could easily command $25+ million in arbitration next year. Maybe that creates the impetus for the Braves to make a strong extension offer to Fried...or we could find out pretty quickly that Fried's tenure with the Braves could be coming to an end.
Either way, Fried's arbitration case is going to be watched intently by not only Fried and the Braves, but by the league at-large as a player of his stature is going to set a significant bar with whatever arbitration number he ends up getting.