Rome Braves pitcher Max Fried is expected to one day be a starter in Atlanta. To get that trajectory on track, he had to overcome the biggest setback of his career.
Fried is 23 months removed from Tommy John surgery that cut his third season in the Padres’ farm system short. Four months after that, the former first-round pick was traded to the Braves along with outfielder Mallex Smith and infielders Jace Peterson and Dustin Peterson for outfielder Justin Upton and pitcher Aaron Northcraft.
“I was extremely surprised,” Fried said. “I hadn’t picked a baseball up yet at all.