Braves Predicted To Sign $21 Million Pitcher To Replace Beloved Max Fried

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Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at the professional and collegiate levels. He's worked/works for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics, and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for SI and Newsweek among others. Find him on Twitter/X @zpretzel

Contributing Sports Writer

The Atlanta Braves desperately need to add a starting pitcher this winter.

Last season, Atlanta struggled with pitching depth, though it had a talented cast of starters at the top of the rotation. Still, the Braves struggled with the fifth starter and sometimes even the fourth starter due to injuries.

Now, they've watched Max Fried and Charlie Morton cut ties with the team in favor of contracts with other teams. The Braves need to add a starter to replace these lost starters.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller recently predicted the Braves would sign Texas Rangers free agent pitcher Andrew Heaney to replace the aforementioned Morton and Fried.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 11: A view of the Atlanta Braves logo on a baseball cap during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on September 11, 2024 in Washington, DC. G Fiume/Getty Images

"So, who has the greatest 11th-hour need for a starting pitcher? Probably the Atlanta Braves, right? They lost Max Fried. They lost Morton," Miller wrote. "We still don't know when Spencer Strider will be back. And as things stand, even once Strider returns, they'll have either Ian Anderson or Grant Holmes penciled in as the fifth starter.

"Throw in the fact that they're banking on both Chris Sale and Reynaldo López staying reasonably healthy, and it's alarming that they have done nothing about their pitching staff this winter. But if they swoop in for Heaney on something like a 2/$19M deal, problem solved—and without exceeding the luxury-tax threshold."

Heaney may not be the caliber of pitcher that Fried is but he's certainly better than what Atlanta has right now.

Last season, the lefty made 31 starts and posted a 4.28 ERA. His FIP, 4.04, and WHIP, 1.25, indicate that he performed even better than his ERA might suggest. The 33-year-old is bound to have a solid season in 2025.

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