Atlanta’s three All-Star starters recall Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz

In the decade that Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz anchored the Atlanta Braves’ pitching rotation, they were all-stars at the same time only once.

But the 2024 Braves also placed three starters on the National League roster for the Midsummer Classic.

“It’s an honor,” said Chris Sale, who leads major league pitchers with 13 wins. “It’s really cool, even though those guys are in a much better situation (in Cooperstown) than we are. To be mentioned with those names is awesome and we always appreciate it.”

Fried agreed.

“What Chris and Reynaldo (Lopez) have done so far is fantastic,” he said. “They’ve given us incredibly consistent starts, so to be added alongside them is fantastic. I was really honoured to be added at the last minute.”

Sale has been cruising since arriving in Atlanta from Boston as part of a straight-up trade for infielder Vaughn Grissom.

An eight-time All-Star, he shares the record for three consecutive starts as a pitcher with Hall of Famers Lefty Gomez and Robin Roberts. But he has never won a Cy Young Award.

Asked if he was thinking about the trophy, he simply replied: “I think I have to start moving up as soon as they give me the ball and I’ll take over from there.”

Fried is not letting his uncertain future affect his performance either.

“I want to focus on what’s happening today,” said Fried, also a 2022 All-Star. “I love the (Atlanta) organization 100 percent. We’re in the middle of the season and we have to focus on other things. I’ve really enjoyed my time here — I love it and I’d like to stay here.”

Fried, a 30-year-old left-hander with a .690 winning percentage and 3.04 ERA in an eight-year career spent entirely in Atlanta, will be a coveted free-agent prospect if the Braves don’t sign him to a contract extension first.

His current contract, which expires after the World Series, pays him $15 million.

According to Spotrac, Sale signed a two-year contract extension worth $38 million with an average annual salary of $19 million. The deal runs through the 2025 and 2026 seasons, with the 6-foot-6 left-hander making $17 million this year.

Lopez, signed as a free agent last winter, received a three-year, $30 million contract with an average annual salary of $10 million. In 2024, Lopez will earn a base salary of $4 million and $11 million in the 2025 and 2026 seasons. His $8 million club option for 2027 includes a $4 million buyout.

The 29-year-old right-handed pitcher responded so well to being asked to move from backup to rotation pitcher that he brought baseball’s best ERA (1.89) to the All-Star Game.

Manager Brian Snitker, armed with a potent bullpen and a need to reach the playoffs with his three horses healthy, has carefully monitored the pitch count, innings pitched and days between starts for his Big Three.

Sale, the oldest National League All-Star at 35, adapted immediately and smoothly to the Atlanta locker room.

“People talk about trades and sometimes it’s tough,” said Sale, who idolized fellow Hall of Fame left-handed pitcher Randy Johnson. “But joining the Braves was an easy transition because of the open locker room, the relaxed nature of the team and the very laid-back nature of the team. It was relatively easy because of the way those guys carry themselves in the locker room.”

Joking with Fried, a serious man, helped.

“We were all hitters before we were pitchers,” Sale said Monday at All-Star Training Day. “There are pitchers who still think they can hit, especially Max, who has won a few trophies, including the last Silver Slugger for National League pitchers. Nobody grows up without dreaming of hitting the game-winning home run.”

The 94th All-Star Game will be played Tuesday before a sold-out crowd at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The second Midsummer Classic hosted by the Rangers will not only be played on artificial turf, but will also feature the National League as the home team (the leagues rotate each year).

The game features 38 new All-Stars, 22 players aged 26 or under and 28 foreign-born participants from eight different countries and territories.

Pittsburgh rookie Paul Skenes will start for the National League, but he could work only one inning, according to manager Torey Lovullo, and left-hander Fried is expected to follow after starting last Thursday. In his last start, Skenes, 22, went seven hitless innings before being pulled due to fatigue.

He is the fifth freshman to start in an All-Star Game, but the first since Hideo Nomo in 1995.