The Atlanta Braves are currently fighting for a playoff position.
Atlanta has only six regular-season games remaining and is currently two games short of a National League Wild Card place. If the Braves want to make a surprising run to the playoffs, they’ll need to go hot in the coming days.
The Braves will have some difficult decisions at the end of the season, whether they make the postseason or not. The most significant will undoubtedly be Max Fried’s future prospects. He has spent his whole eight-year major league career in Atlanta, but he is set to enter free agency and will be one of the most sought-after pitchers on the market.
With only a few days left in the regular season, Fried’s time in Atlanta could be limited. He may only have one more start with the squad as they compete for a postseason spot, and it could be his last, according to The Athletic’s David O’Brien.
“The Braves haven’t signed Fried to an extension, and he would be a free agent the week after the World Series,” he stated. “Atlanta stayed two games behind the New York Mets for the third and final NL wild-card slot, with only seven games left in the season, including a three-game series against the Mets beginning Tuesday in Atlanta. Fried will be on regular rest in Thursday’s series finale against the Mets, which may be his final start with the Braves if they do not progress to the playoffs.”
Fried has been everything the Braves could have wanted over the last eight years. He received two All-Star nominations, three Gold Glove Awards, and won the World Series with Atlanta. If he does leave, he certainly had a successful career with the Braves.
