Braves advised to avoid two $150 million free agent stars this winter

The Atlanta Braves have a very important free agency period ahead of them. They have a few holes in their roster and some rumors have Atlanta as big fish on the market.

But FanSided’s Jacob Mountz has a different take on the Braves. In an attempt to save money, Mountz advised the Braves to avoid signing free agent infielder Willie Adams and free agent pitcher Max Fried.

Spotrac projects Fried to sign a six-year deal worth $136 million and Adames to sign a six-year deal worth $152 million. Signing these two superstars for the next six seasons will cost the Braves approximately $300 million.

“Adams’ defense has raised some concerns that a position change may be needed down the line. If so, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies are blocking him,” Mountz wrote.

If the Braves are in the market for Adames, they should stop at nothing to get him. While having a positive defender at the shortstop position is important, adding a bat to improve over the struggling Orlando Arcia would be huge. This will add another middle-of-the-pack bat that can post an OPS over .800 every year.

But Mountz also recommends avoiding Fried, who is the more confusing of the two, citing Atlanta’s deep rotation as why.

“If the Braves were desperate for pitching, going after Fried would make more sense. But the Braves will enter next season with a stellar rotation that includes Spencer Strider, Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Ian Anderson and Spencer Schwellenbach,” Mountz wrote. . “With that in mind, the Braves should be more interested in acquiring a less expensive insurance unit with star potential like Walker Buehler.”

The Braves’ biggest struggle last season was starting pitching depth. Fried has been the team’s most consistent pitcher over the past five seasons. Allowing him to choose Buehler, Schwellenbach, Lopez or Anderson would be a very questionable move.

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