Braves hopeful Max Fried died Tuesday night

Atlanta Braves The offseason priority list starts with Max Fried. The southpaw is one of the most desirable pitchers on the market for a reason, and while the Braves and Alex Anthopoulos would prefer to keep him, their chances of doing so have dropped dramatically.

Blake Snell signed a five-year, $182 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night. Snell earned the deal last season while playing on a one-year deal with the rival San Francisco Giants. Snell won the Cy Young twice and if it weren’t for Shohei Ohtani, he would have been the undisputed ace of the Dodgers’ staff. Rather than wait too long, as happened last winter, Snell jumped at the opportunity to join the World Series champions. It’s hard to blame him.

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The unfortunate truth about this winter’s free agent market is that it’s heavily stacked, especially when it comes to starting pitchers. It’s a great year to be a free agent, but it’s not the ideal time to need pitching help. The Braves, like many teams, will learn this the hard way.

If Anthopoulos hasn’t already done so, he should lower his expectations. The Braves pitcher will be fine without Fried, especially if Spencer Strider returns to form from Tommy John surgery. After all, Chris Sale won the NL Cy Young last season. Restoration It would be fried a fantastic addition, but it would also cost over $30 million AAV, a number the Braves will almost certainly walk away from.

Atlanta spent the first few weeks of the offseason making payroll, whether it was trading Jorge Soler or releasing Travis d’Arnaud. These painful decisions come with consequences that Braves are willing to live with in order to be subject to the luxury tax. Anthopoulos will spend money to improve a potential World Series contender in Atlanta, but it will be on his terms, not the CAA’s.