Why the St. Louis Cardinals must acquire Max Fried if he's available

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Max Fried is the perfect trade target for the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals will field a strong team entering the 2022 MLB season, but in order to be a World Series contender, many would argue they need to go out and acquire a sure fire ace to top their rotation. Carlos Rodon has now been signed by the Yankees in free agency, and other rumored trade targets do not appear to be available at the moment.

One name that has been floated out there recently is Atlanta Braves left-handed pitching Max Fried. In an appearance on MLB Network discussing the Sean Murphy trade, Jim Callis dropped the potential availablity of the Atlanta ace.

"With the Braves' payroll climbing...don't be shocked if we see a Max Fried trade this offseason."@jimcallisMLB breaks down the three-team trade completed yesterday, the crop of prospects heading to Oakland and what the deal means for Atlanta. #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/xisSn2578s
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 13, 2022

While some saw the initial report of a potential Fried trade as unlikely at best, I'll address later why this talk that Jim Callis has heard actually makes a lot of sense when you look at the Braves and how they operate. Callis was not claming a trade would for sure happen, but in the same way that Tyler Glasnow, Shane Bieber, Pablo Lopez, and Lucas Giolito could be trade targets, we must look at Max Fried as a potential option as well.

Let's breakdown why a Fried trade seems like it could happen this off-season, why he'd be a great fit for the Cardinals, and what it would take to get a deal done with the Braves.

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