Atlanta's 2025 offseason was defined by the team's lack of spending and its choice to ignore clear roster needs. The one exception was signing outfielder Jurickson Profar to a three-year deal.
Profar's tenure would last all of three games before the veteran was suspended for violating the league's banned substance policy. Losing the one meaningful addition of the offseason really drove home how frustrating Atlanta's scaling back of spending has been. The team needed help not only in the outfield but meaningful additions in the bullpen and rotation. It didn't help matters that Atlanta lost top of the rotation arm Max Fried.
Letting Fried walk away was a mistake the Braves are increasingly regretting in the 2025 season. As the Braves watch the bottom of their rotation struggle, Fried is thriving in New York. Atlanta was expecting to have Spencer Strider replace Fried's innings, however, Strider made only one start this season before returning to the IL. Even if Strider is the best version of himself, having Fried would allow the bullpen to be far deeper by moving Grant Holmes into a better role.
Atlanta Made a Terrible Blunder Letting Max Fried Walk Away Without a Fight
Fried signed with the Yankees for eight years and $218 million, an incredibly reasonable deal in today's market for a player of Fried's talent. Yes, this goes against Atlanta's recent record of letting Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, and a myriad of bullpen arms walk away. If the Braves don't pay a player early on a team-friendly deal, they rarely return.
This time, it didn't take long for it to be an immediate problem for Atlanta. While Grant Holmes, Chris Sale, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Bryce Elder have all struggled, Max Fried is off to an incredible start.
Through six starts this season, Fried is 6-0 with a 1.19 ERA, looking like the best version of himself. Yes, the starter is likely to regress to a level, but the point remains Atlanta fumbled away a top-of-the-rotation arm. A cheap ownership group is starting to catch up with the Braves and cost the franchise wins. Max Fried was another important culture setter who would have helped solidify the rotation for the next half-decade.
Letting the starter walk away was a poor choice, actively costing Atlanta. New York's hot start, being largely supported by Fried, helps drive this point home of what could've been. Choosing not to pay Freeman was a bad mistake; the Braves opted to repeat a second time with Fried. Both losses have been immediately felt and will continue to haunt a franchise that is so close to being a World Series contender. Atlanta's only chance to correct this mistake is being willing to spend at the trade deadline and hope to replace what they've lost in Fried.