ATLANTA — Longtime Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried is departing after spending the first eight seasons of his career in Atlanta.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Fried reached a massive eight-year, $218 million deal with the New York Yankees. It is the largest guaranteed contract in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher.
In his eight seasons in Atlanta, Fried went 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA and two All-Star Game appearances. He helped anchor the Braves rotation that won the World Series in 2021. Fried took over as Atlanta's ace in 2019 and held that position until the 2024 season, when Spencer Strider was the team's opening day starter.
Fried has been plagued by injuries at times during his career, missing more than two months of the 2023 season with a forearm strain. Fried had the highest ERA of his career in Atlanta since the 2019 season in 2024, albeit still a very productive 3.25 mark.
The new Yankees left-hander will now settle into the No. 2 spot in the rotation behind ace Gerrit Cole.
