The Braves avoided arbitration with starter Max Fried and reliever A.J. Minter on Friday, according to a person familiar with the situation. They will go to arbitration with starter Mike Soroka and shortstop Dansby Swanson to determine their 2021 salaries.
The deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to swap salary figures was 1 p.m. Friday. The Braves had four eligible players remaining: Fried, Minter, Soroka and Swanson. Fried and the Braves settled at $3.5 million. Minter and the Braves settled at $1.3 million. Both were eligible for the first time.
Fried is coming off the best season of his career, in which he recorded a 2.25 ERA with 50 strikeouts against 19 walks across 11 starts in the shortened season. Minter rebounded from a poor 2019, earning a 0.83 ERA in 22 games, re-establishing himself as a high-leverage option in the bullpen.
Soroka and Swanson, meanwhile, will see their salaries determined in court. Swanson filed at $6.7 million while the Braves were at $6 million. There was an equal difference between Soroka ($2.8 million) and the team ($2.1 million).
Soroka is a unique situation as a Super-2 player (his qualifications made him arbitration-eligible before he accrued three years of service time). He was an All-Star as a rookie in 2019 but made only three starts last season before tearing his Achilles. The Braves and Soroka are hopeful he’ll be ready sometime early next season. MLB Trade Rumors projected he would earn around $1.8 million in arbitration, so he’ll come out ahead of their estimation.
Swanson is eligible for the second time after the sides settled at $3.15 million last offseason. Swanson hit .274/.345/.464 with 10 homers and 35 RBIs in 2020. MLB Trade Rumors had projected he could earn anywhere from $4.3 million to $8.3 million in arbitration, depending on the formula used, and that will be the case.
The Braves have been to arbitration with two players since 2018. They won both cases -- over starter Mike Foltynewicz (2018) and reliever Shane Greene (2020).
