The entire baseball world is waiting for Juan Soto to sign so the rest of free agency can get underway. Most predict that will happen within the next few days, and one of the top teams in the mix are the New York Yankees, who are hoping to retain the star outfielder after he led them to the World Series in his only season with the team.
However, the Yankees aren’t just interested in Juan Soto. According to Michael Kay, the New York brass had a 90-minute Zoom call with Braves ace Max Fried that went “very well.” The two sides are also expected to have another meeting in the near future.
Max Fried is one of the many marquee free agents waiting for his market to heat up, which will surely become more clear once Juan Soto makes his decision. Whether Soto chooses the Yankees or not could impact how serious New York is about Fried, but they certainly have the money to afford both.
As far as the Braves’ interest in Max Fried, mum’s the word to this point. That doesn’t really mean much, considering Atlanta is notorious for keeping things close to the vest. However, judging by some of the early deals for starting pitchers across the league, Fried is not going to come cheap. He could even sniff $200 million. The Braves will have to get out of their comfort zone if they want to bring back the ace of their staff.