Braves avoid arbitration with Max Fried, A.J. Minter (Updated)

The Atlanta Braves have avoided arbitration with pitchers Max Fried and A.J. Minter agreeing to a pair of one-year deals prior to Friday’s deadline. Teams had until 1 p.m. to negotiate or else exchange figures and head into arbitration.

The Athletic’s David O’Brien reported that Fried agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal while Minter signed a one-year, $1.3 million pact.

Update: The Braves have announced the deals for Fried and Minter.

Atlanta was unable to find common ground with right-hander Mike Soroka and shortstop Dansby Swanson who were their other two players that are arbitration eligible. That means that contract figures will be exchanged and their salaries will be set by an arbitrator in February.

Soroka’s case is interesting in that he is classified as a Super 2 but has only appeared in 37 games over three seasons. Shoulder soreness limited him to just five starts in 2018 as a rookie. He logged 29 starts and was an All-Star in 2019 but made just three starts in 2020 before suffering a torn Achilles.

Swanson and the Braves avoided arbitration last offseason with a one-year, $3.15 million deal. Swanson appeared in all 60 games for Atlanta in 2020 hitting .274/.345/.464 with 10 home runs.