Fried Will Always Treasure His Time with Braves

Should Max Fried go on to become the all-time winningest Jewish pitcher – and perhaps cement his legacy as a certifiable Hall of Famer — it will not be for the Atlanta Braves. Earlier this month the two-time All-Star lefty finalized a $218 million, eight-year contract with the New York Yankees, Atlanta’s two-time 1990s World Series opponent. Fried receives a $20 million signing bonus, half payable on Jan. 31, 2025; the rest on Jan. 31, 2026. He will then get salaries of $12 million in each of the first two seasons and $29 million in each of the remaining six.

Fried, who will turn 31 next month, enjoyed a remarkable run with the Braves, posting a 3.07 ERA with 863 strikeouts over parts of eight seasons. The three-time

Gold Glove winner and linchpin of the Braves’ 2021 world championship rotation — his Game 6 masterpiece outing will forever have a special place in Braves’ lore — was even better in his final 27 starts of the 2024 season, registering a 2.82 ERA, the third lowest in the National League.

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But, ultimately, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and the rest of the Braves’ front office – despite being inclined to leap past the $241 million luxury tax threshold for a third consecutive winter — weren’t willing to commit to an oft-injured pitcher who — despite all his regular season brilliance — has had a spotty postseason record of late (his career postseason resume includes a 2-5 record and 5.10 ERA) and would be nearing 40 at the latter end of the massive contract. Meanwhile, the Yankees, gunning for their first World Series title since 2009, were willing to outspend the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers in offering Fried the largest guaranteed contract ever given to a left-handed pitcher.

“When the Yankees say that they’re interested in you, you perk up and you listen,” Fried said during his introductory press conference at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday – a full week after the news first broke that he was headed to the Bronx. “There’s a standard and it’s an extremely storied franchise. I was excited to hop on a call and be able to talk with the group up here.

“I just felt like a lot of our values — what we value and the end goal was very similar and it was very just down to earth, easy to talk to and I felt really comfortable. … When it came down to it, it just felt right.”

Earlier this month, while contemplating his next career move, Fried toured an empty Yankee Stadium. Outside the home clubhouse was a sign plastered with a simple three-word mantra — “Prepare. Compete. Win.” – that apparently left quite an impression on the Santa Monica native who once pitched for a gold medal-winning Team USA Juniors in the 2009 Maccabiah Games.

“I thought a lot about that,” Fried said in his intro meeting with the New York media. “And to me, as a competitor, and just to me as a player, it really resonated with me. Because at the end of the day, before I take the ball I’m going to prepare as best as I possibly can. When I get out there, I’m going to leave everything out there and compete to the best of my abilities and at the end of the day the one thing that we are out here to do is to win. For me, I couldn’t be more excited to be here.”

No team in major league baseball history has won more World Series titles (27) than New York. Now with one of the game’s truly elite pitchers fortifying an already solid rotation, the 2025 Yankees project as a strong World Series contender for the balance of the 2020s.

“Winning is a big priority for me,” Fried reiterated. “Every single year, the Yankees come to spring training, the No. 1 goal is to win a World Series. It’s not to get to the playoffs. It’s not to do anything besides hold up the trophy at the end of the year. Knowing that I was going to make a potentially long commitment, I wanted to be able to be in a place that I knew I was going to be able to win year in and year out.

“I love playoff baseball, and I love to be able to have meaningful baseball at the end of the year and the Yankees are an organization that are going to do that year in and year out.”

The Braves, of course, promise to be a regular participant in October baseball for years to come and it was one reason that Fried during last year’s All-Star break expressed strong desire to return. Alas, talks between Fried’s camp and the Braves’ brass never got significant traction, leaving Fried to follow the same path to free agency that his former teammates, Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson, embarked on earlier this decade.

Ever the class act, Fried took to Instagram to express his gratitude to Braves fans – among so many others — before his impending departure.

“To the fans, thank you for welcoming this West Coast kid and making Atlanta feel like home,” Fried said. “It’s been incredible to play for you, feel your energy, and represent the Braves. As I head into this next chapter, I’ll always look back at my time in Atlanta with so much love. It’s truly been an honor.”

Now, the greatest Jewish pitcher of the modern generation is headed to the Big Apple, a city with an enormous Jewish population — and supercharged fanbase.

“I think, personally, it’s the same game whatever city you’re in,” Fried responded when asked about the challenge of playing in NYC. “It’s still 60 feet, six inches, and you’re going up against another guy. They’re just very passionate fans and I can control what I can control and that’s to go out there and leave everything out on the field and compete as best as I can every single time.

“There’s no bigger stage than pitching in New York. There’s a different feel when you step into the stadium. You feel the energy and the buzz, and I can’t wait to kind of feed off of that.”

While the Braves do not visit the Bronx this summer, they will host the Yanks for a mid-July series – one that immediately follows the MLB All-Star Game, what may after all be Fried’s return to Truist Park.