{"id":104274,"date":"2025-07-18T14:28:29","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T18:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=104274"},"modified":"2025-07-18T14:28:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T18:28:47","slug":"max-fried-return-to-atlanta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/07\/18\/max-fried-return-to-atlanta\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Fried Set for Return to Atlanta as Braves Rotation Instability Remains"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Max Fried<\/a> arrives in Atlanta, it won\u2019t be just another series. It will be his first time returning to the place he called home for eight seasons.<\/p>\n

Max Fried Set for Return to Atlanta as Braves Rotation Instability Remains<\/h2>\n

Now a New York Yankee, Fried is likely to toe the rubber during the interleague series at Truist Park. Assuming he\u2019s fully recovered from a blister that ended his last outing. The left-hander has been dominant this season, going 11-3 with a 2.43 ERA through 122 innings. His fastball run value ranks in the top 1% of MLB pitchers. He\u2019s been one of the most valuable arms in baseball by advanced metrics.<\/p>\n

For Braves fans, seeing Fried on the opposing side will be a bittersweet reminder of what\u2019s missing. From 2017 to 2024, Fried was a staple of Atlanta\u2019s rotation, helping lead the team to a World Series title in 2021<\/a>. In his final season with the Braves, Fried went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA over 29 starts, tying for the league lead with two complete games and one shutout and ranking among the top in the National League in ground ball rate (59%) and opponent slugging percentage (.315).<\/p>\n

After signing an eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees<\/a>, Fried\u2019s departure left a hole in Atlanta\u2019s rotation that the team has struggled to fill.<\/p>\n

Braves\u2019 Rotation in Crisis<\/h3>\n

Atlanta enters the second half of the season at 42-53, sitting 12.5 games back in the NL East. The state of their pitching staff tells the story. Injuries have ravaged the rotation. Ace Chris Sale<\/a> is out until at least August, Spencer Schwellenbach<\/a> won\u2019t take the hill again until September, A.J. Smith-Shawver<\/a> is out for the season, and Reynaldo L\u00f3pez<\/a> remains without a clear recovery timeline following shoulder surgery.<\/p>\n

The Braves\u2019 attempts to patch the holes haven\u2019t fared well. Top prospect Didier Fuentes<\/a> was overwhelmed in his four major league starts, posting a brutal 13.85 ERA and a 0-3 record before being optioned to Triple-A. In his place, 27-year-old Nathan Wiles<\/a> has been called up. Wiles has been solid in Gwinnett with a 3.33 ERA over 15 starts.<\/p>\n

This Weekend\u2019s Matchups<\/h3>\n

The Yankees have yet to announce their starters for the series against Atlanta officially but Fried is a candidate to take the mound. If so, it sets the stage for an emotional return to the place where he built his reputation.<\/p>\n

Atlanta will open the series Friday night with Spencer Strider<\/a>, who\u2019s battled back from injuries of his own. Strider has posted a 3.94 ERA since returning from a hamstring strain in May, but his season record stands at 3-7, and his effectiveness with his fastball and offspeed pitches has been inconsistent.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s Game 2 will feature Joey Wentz<\/a>, likely in an opener role. The lefty, who last started regularly with the Tigers in 2023, struck out six over three scoreless innings of relief in his only appearance for Atlanta so far this season.<\/p>\n

Grant Holmes will take the mound in Sunday\u2019s series finale. Now in his second major league campaign, Holmes holds a 4-8 record with a 3.77 ERA. His breaking run value is among the top 4% of MLB pitchers, but his fastball has struggled to miss bats, with a run value metric in the bottom 4% of the league.<\/p>\n

Fried\u2019s Return Highlights Bigger Picture<\/h3>\n

As Fried prepares to pitch against the Braves for the first time, his presence underscores what Atlanta is missing: stability, leadership, and dominance atop the rotation. With the season slipping away and the NL East title growing more distant, the Braves are hoping someone, whether it\u2019s Strider, Holmes, Wiles, or an unknown contributor, can emerge to fill that void.<\/p>\n

For now, all eyes will be on Fried this weekend in Atlanta, and for Braves fans, it may be difficult not to wonder what could have been.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credits: Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Max Fried arrives in Atlanta, it won\u2019t be just another series. It will be his first time returning to the place he called home for eight seasons. Max Fried Set for Return to Atlanta as Braves Rotation Instability Remains Now a New York Yankee, Fried is likely to toe the rubber during the interleague […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4445,"featured_media":104282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1071,5,35],"tags":[6439,198,29002,28763,1306,218,336,28523,3820],"class_list":["post-104274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-braves","category-mlb","category-yankees","category-news","tag-aj-smith-shawver","tag-chris-sale","tag-didier-fuentes","tag-grant-holmes","tag-joey-wentz","tag-max-fried","tag-reynaldo-lopez","tag-spencer-schwellenbach","tag-spencer-strider"],"modified_by":"Evan Mazza, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104274"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104283,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104274\/revisions\/104283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}