On Friday, Atlanta Braves’ pitcher Max Fried made his return and did so with an All-Star like performance as he struck out eight through six innings, allowing three hits and no runs. More importantly, Fried’s outing may have given Braves’s fans a reason to feel some relief in regards to their starting pitching as that had been an area of concern for the club over that past few months. In fact, many thought Atlanta should have looked to trade for a starting pitcher, however the deadline came and went with the biggest arm the Braves acquired coming in the form of Brad Hand.
Fast forward to Friday in Chicago, where the Braves opened up a three game set with the Cubs as Fried took to the mound with a performance that may have silenced any critics of the Braves standing pat for the most part. However, during a conversation with Justin Toscano, who covers the Braves for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 92-9 The Game’s Jon Chuckery expressed his thoughts on Fried stating that he believes he is “the best left-hander in baseball,” and asked Toscano to share his thoughts on if he believes the Braves would “fork out the kind of cash it’s going to take,” to keep Fried long term should he continue to produce outings like Friday’s over the next year or two.
“I think he likes Atlanta,” Toscano started off with his response to the evening host’s question and while he states that there’s a “narrative” in regards to Fried liking the Los Angeles due to the fact of being from the area, Toscano adds that from a money perspective, “if the Braves were to pony up and offer him something he felt couldn’t refuse….obviously he would probably take that deal,” Toscano says.
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