Braves agree to 1-year deals with left-handers Fried, Minter

Updated Jan. 15, 2021 10:22 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The Braves agreed Friday to one-year deals with left-handers Max Fried and A.J. Minter but have exchanged salary arbitration figures with right-hander Mike Soroka and shortstop Dansby Swanson.

Fried gets $3.5 million and Minter $1.3 million.

Soroka has asked for $2.8 million and Atlanta has offered $2.1 million, while Swanson is requesting $6.7 million compared to the Braves’ $6 million offer. The sides can come to agreements until arbitrators hear their cases and issue rulings next month.

Fried, 26, earned a significant raise from 2020, when he earned $216,111 as his prorated portion of his $583,500 salary in a pandemic-shortened season. Fried finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Award voting after going 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in the regular season.

Fried excelled in his fourth season when asked to fill in as Atlanta’s ace following Soroka’s season-ending Achilles tendon injury.

Minter enjoyed a strong bounce-back season, recording a 0.83 ERA in 22 appearances. He had 24 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings, reclaiming his spot as a reliable left-hander after struggling in 2019 with a 7.06 ERA. He also earned a prorated $216,111 salary in 2020.

Soroka opened the 2020 season as Atlanta’s opening-day starter after posting a 13-4 record and 2.68 ERA in 2019, but he tore his Achilles tendon in his third start. Soroka, 23, could be ready for the start of the 2021 season, but the team may take a cautious approach in his return. He was slated to make $583,500 and ended up with a prorated share at $216,111.

Swanson, a .249 career hitter through five seasons, hit a career-best .274 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs while committing only two errors in 2020. He hit 17 homers while hitting .251 in 127 games in 2019. Still only 26, Swanson’s offense appears to still be trending upward.

Swanson earned a prorated $1,166,667 of his $3.15 million salary last season.

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