Yankees Projected to Poach Pair of Braves Pitchers in MLB Free Agency

Things are heating up around both Atlanta Braves left-handed starter Max Fried and lefty reliever A.J. Minter.

ESPN's Alden Gonzalez predicted Fried to be the biggest-named player to be signed or traded during the MLB winter meetings this week. Meanwhile, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported Minter has been one of the more popular bullpen arms discussed at the winter meetings.

The Braves would love to bring both back to Atlanta next season. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter projected Fried and Minter to remain teammates in 2025 -- but with the New York Yankees.

On Monday, Reuter predicted the Yankees to sign both left-handed pitichers.

"Adding Fried to the mix would give the Yankees another ace-caliber starter to plug into the No. 2 spot in the rotation, which makes the entire staff as a whole stronger by sliding everyone else down a spot," wrote Reuter.

The Bleacher Report writer projected New York to sign Fried to a 6-year, $150 million deal. He then predicted the Yankees to land Minter on a 2-year, $16 million contract.

"With a 3.28 ERA and 10.9 K/9 in 384 career appearances, Minter has been a reliable lefty bullpen option throughout an eight-year career spent entirely in Atlanta," added Reuter. "The 31-year-old missed the final month and a half of the 2024 season after undergoing hip surgery, but he is expected to be ready for Opening Day. He would give the Yankees a much-needed southpaw with high-leverage experience."

This would obviously be quite a blow for the Braves. But also not unexpected. Fried is one of the top starting pitchers available this offseason, and Minter is a reliable southpaw reliever with valuable postseason experience.

It won't be very surprising if both pitchers sign elsewhere. It shouldn't really matter to Braves Country if it's with the same team as long as it's an American League club such as the Yankees.

Fried went 11-10 with a 3.25 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 174.1 innings on his way to his second All-Star team during 2024. He posted a 3.07 ERA over eight years with the Braves.

Minter owned a 2.62 ERA and 1.019 WHIP in 39 appearances this past season. He registered a 3.28 ERA, 1.196 WHIP and 422 strikeouts in 394 relief appearances over eight seasons in Atlanta.