This winter's MLB free agency class is absolutely loaded with talent. The class is going to be headlined by Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Blake Snell, and Corbin Burnes, all of whom are projected to land contracts worth north of $150 million.
But if I had to pick the player that's going to fly under the radar and label him the most underrated free agent of the offseason, it would be Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried.
Fried is one of the most interesting free agents for a few reasons. The first reason, as I stated, is that he's criminally underrated. Fried has posted sub-4.00 ERAs in seven of his eight big league seasons with a 4.02 ERA being his career high.
Secondly, unlike most of the top free agents this winter, Fried isn't represented by Scott Boras. Boras is notorious for dragging free agency negotiations out as long as possible in order to get his client the most money.
MLB Network's Jon Morosi recently reported he anticipates Fried being the first pitcher off the market this winter, largely because of his representation.
A piece of the puzzle that isn't mentioned by Morosi is how signing early could impact Fried's market. Let me explain.
The Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox are four teams that are heavily rumored to be in on Fried and the top free agent of the class, Soto.
Signing Fried early to, let's say a five-year, $110 million contract, would effectively put a team out of the Soto sweepstakes. With this in mind, the four teams above would all need to make their choice between chasing Soto or settling for Fried.
Something like this could open the door for a team like the Baltimore Orioles to swoop in and snag Fried.
More MLB: Blue Jays, Yankees, Mariners Among Those Showing Interest In White Sox Infielder
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