Fried will start for Atlanta on Opening Day versus the Nationals.
It's no surprise the southpaw gets the nod following a National League Cy Young runner-up campaign. Fried has been excellent this spring, tossing 11.1 scoreless innings while notching 14 strikeouts.
Fried allowed one hit and two walks over 6.1 scoreless innings while striking out five in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.
It was another impressive spring outing for the southpaw, who sports a 14:4 K:BB through 11.1 Grapefruit League innings without giving up a run. Fried remains in line to get the Opening Day assignment for Atlanta, although manager Brian Snitker has yet to make an announcement, and the 29-year-old is coming off a season in which he posted a 2.48 ERA and career-best 1.01 WHIP in a career-high 185.1 innings.
Fried gave up two hits over four scoreless innings while striking out five in Thursday's exhibition game against Team Puerto Rico.
Facing a lineup that featured Francisco Lindor in the leadoff spot and big-league bats throughout the lineup, Fried carved up the opposition without much trouble. Including two Grapefruit League starts, the southpaw has yet to allow a run over nine innings with a composite 14:2 K:BB this spring, and he appears to be just about ready for Opening day.
Fried gave up two hits and struck out four without walking anyone over two scoreless innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.
Facing a Toronto lineup mostly made up of minor leaguers, Fried didn't have much trouble carving it up in his first game action of the spring. The 29-year-old southpaw is coming off an impressive 2022 campaign that included a career-best 4.4 percent walk rate, and he's in the mix to take the mound Opening Day for Atlanta.
Fried lost his arbitration case Saturday and will be paid $13.5 million next season rather than the $15 million he hoped for, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Fried still has two more seasons to go before he reaches free agency, so Atlanta will get to keep one of the better lefties in the game around at a discounted rate. Fried owns a 2.68 ERA over the past three seasons despite a merely average 23.3 percent strikeout rate. He's relied on a high groundball rate (51.7 percent of that stretch) and a low walk rate (5.7 percent) to minimize damage.
