There's a lot to like about this Atlanta Braves team.
Atlanta was one of the most injured teams in baseball throughout the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season, and yet the club had enough to earn a playoff spot. The Braves showed a lot of guts down the stretch. Atlanta was in a race for a National League Wild Card spot with the New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks and ended up earning one on the final day of the season.
The Braves have one of the deepest rosters in baseball, and that's why they were able to earn a playoff spot despite losing stars like Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider, among others.
Atlanta should be even better in 2025, but it could lose a star this winter. The Braves will have to turn their focus to free agency as soon as the playoffs end, no matter what happens. Ace Max Fried will be a free agent, and the club will have to decide whether it wants to pay top dollar to retain him.
Fried will be among the top players available this winter and currently is projected to receive a deal worth $149 million across six years. That is a large deal. The Braves could afford it, but it will have to decide whether or not it ultimately wants to.
Atlanta should find a way to keep him. He is a two-time All-Star and has been extremely consistent for the Braves over the last eight years. Losing him would not only just hurt the rotation but the organization as a whole. Losing someone who has been such an important piece to an organization for eight years would sting.
Hopefully, the two sides can find some common ground.
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