Before anyone gets too excited, the Atlanta Braves absolutely missed having Max Fried around in 2025. Not only was Fried a tremendous clubhouse leader and a trusted voice, but he was also a key rotation arm for the Braves and one that just posted a 2.86 ERA in 32 starts for the Yankees. When Atlanta lost Fried to New York, it was a blow and no one is arguing otherwise. However, that doesn't mean that the Braves letting it happen was wrong.
Looking at what Fried has done with the Yankees, it has looked very familiar to what he did with the Braves. Most of the time, he has been absolutely dominant and Fried made the All-Star team and is going to get some down ballot Cy Young votes. Meanwhile, Atlanta saw their entire Opening Day starting rotation go on the injured list with some of them likely to miss at least part of 2025. The Braves royally screwed up when they lost him then, right?
Well, not exactly. In fact, Fried getting torched by the Blue Jays in the ALDS is a reminder that pitchers are a volatile commodity and at Fried's age, they are anything but a sure thing.
Max Fried's implosion against the Blue Jays at least somewhat vindicates Braves decision
Again, Fried having one bad start in the postseason doesn't invalidate who he has been as a pitcher in 2025 and in his career. Most teams would kill to have a starter of his quality in their rotations. However, Fried's implosion is a reminder that as good as he is, he is not a 100% sure thing and the bad times are going to come more frequently as he ages.
At almost 32 years old, Fried has a lot of miles on his arm and has a pretty lengthy injury history that comes with it. We don't know if fatigue or injury played a role in Fried's rough outing against the Blue Jays and the odds are that this was just a one-off issue in the short term. However, with seven years left on the eight year, $218 million deal he signed with the Yankees, New York has to be wondering, at least a little bit, if they should have hesitated more about locking up Fried on that sort of deal.
The problem isn't that Fried isn't worth that deal in the short-term. Again, he was awesome in the 2025 regular season and no one was complaining then. However, which each passing year as a pitcher into his 30's, the odds of starts going sideways, stuff diminishing, and more injuries pop up. There is a good reason why teams don't like giving long-term, nine figure deals to pitchers: they rarely end up being good deals and often turn into disasters.
One hopes that Fried bounces back from this setback and gets back on track. He gave the Braves too much to do anything other than wish him well. However, with all pitchers being volatile commodities with limited opportunities to produce, the Braves letting Fried walk feels a little better knowing that he stumbled in the playoffs during his prime with New York.