Three All-Star Starters for Atlanta: Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz.

Only once in their ten years as the cornerstones of the Atlanta Braves pitching rotation—in 1996—were Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. But when the Braves placed three starters on the National League roster in 2024, they accomplished the same thing (three Braves starters were on the NL team in 1997, when Maddux, Glavine, and Denny Neagle were picked). Chris Sale, who leads all major league pitchers with 13 victories, said, “It’s an honor.” “Although those guys are in a much better place [Cooperstown] than we are, it’s still a really cool thing.” It’s impressive to be recognized with those names, and you’re always grateful for that.

Fried agreed.

“What Chris and Reynaldo (Lopez) have done up to this point is great,” he said. “They’ve given us unbelievably consistent starts, so to be added with them is fabulous. I was definitely honored to be a late add.”

Sale has been sailing since arriving in Atlanta from Boston is a straight-up trade for middle infielder Vaughn Grissom.

An eight-time All-Star, he shares the record of three straight starts as a pitcher with Hall of Famers Lefty Gomez and Robin Roberts. But he’s never won a Cy Young Award.

Asked if he was thinking about the trophy, he said only, “I’m thinking I’ve got to start coming up whenever they hand me the ball and I’ll take it from there.” Nor is Fried letting his uncertain future influence his performance. “I want to focus on what’s happening today,” said Fried, also an All-Star in 2022. “I 100 per cent love the [Atlanta] organization. We’re in the middle of the season and we have to focus on other things. I truly have loved my time here – I love it and would love to stay here.” Fried, a 30-year-old left-hander with a .690 winning percentage and 3.04 earned run average during an eight-year career spent entirely in Atlanta, will be a coveted commodity on the free-agent market if the Braves don’t sign him to a contract extension first.

His current deal pays him $15 million and runs out after the World Series. Spotrac reports that Sale agreed to a two-year contract extension of $38,000,000, with an average yearly salary of $19,000,000. The 6’6″ southpaw will make $17,000,000 this year under the terms of the pact, which spans the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Lopez, who became a free agent in the previous winter, agreed to a $30 million three-year contract with an average salary of $10,000,000. López will receive a base salary of $4,000,000 in 2024, as well as $11 million in 2025 and 2026. There is a $4 million buyout included in his $8 million club option for 2027.

When asked to go from bullpen to the starting rotation, the 29-year-old right-handed power pitcher performed so well that he entered the All-Star Game with the highest earned run average in baseball (1.89). Equipped with a potent bullpen and a pressing need to make it to the postseason with all three horses in good health, manager Brian Snitker has been closely observing the number of pitches thrown, innings pitched, and days in between starts for his Big Three.

Sale, the oldest NL All-Star at age 35, made an immediate and smooth adjustment to the Atlanta clubhouse.

“People talk about getting traded and sometimes it can be tough,” said Sale, who idolized Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, another left-handed power pitcher. “But coming to the Braves was an easy transition because of how open the clubhouse is, how relaxed they are and how they are, very laid back. It was relatively easy because of how those guys are in the clubhouse.”

Kidding around with the serious-minded Fried helped.

“We were all hitters before we were pitchers,” Sale said Monday during All-Star Workout Day. “You have pitchers who still think they can hit, especially Max, who has a couple of trophies, including the last Silver Slugger for NL pitchers. Nobody grows up as a kid not dreaming of hitting the game-winning home run.”