The Atlanta Braves will need to take a serious look at their roster this winter, which will most likely lead to the addition of at least one starting pitcher.
Atlanta’s most pressing personnel dilemma right now is the future of All-Star Max Fried. He is a free agent, and it’s unknown whether he will return. At this point, he’s more likely to be wearing a different team’s shirt in 2025 and beyond.
Fried has turned into a superstar as a Braves player, but he is set to sign a big contract worth $100 million this winter. Atlanta may not want to pay that price, and Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller proposed future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer as a possible replacement.
“Two weeks ago, there seemed to be little chance Atlanta would spend $15 million on yet another injury issue,” Miller said. “The Braves need a pitcher who can be trusted to take the mound every fifth day until Spencer Strider returns. But then they declined Travis d’Arnaud’s $8 million club option and dealt Jorge Soler ($16 million salary) for Griffin Canning (projected $5.4 million salary), reducing the payroll enough to make a Scherzer signing possible.
“As with the (Los Angeles Dodgers), though, if Atlanta wants a pitcher in the twilight of his career, it would likely just re-sign the one it already had for a while (Charlie Morton).”
Scherzer, a future Hall of Famer, demonstrated last season that he still has something left in the tank. He made only nine starts for the Texas Rangers, but he looked terrific. He’s expected to earn $15 million this summer, so he’d certainly be less expensive than Fried. Could he have one more run in him?
