Left-hander Max Fried and the Atlanta Braves settled at $15 million for the 2024 season to avoid salary arbitration on Thursday, according to a source. This was Fried's final year of arbitration eligibility, and the talented 29-year-old southpaw will become a free agent for the first time in his career after the 2024 season concludes. Injuries were the story of his season in 2023, as he was only able to make 14 starts. However, when he was on the mound for the Braves, he remained a fantasy ace, posting a 2.55 ERA, only 18 walks and 80 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings pitched. Fried also had a career-best 58 percent ground-ball rate. During a walk year with no restrictions heading into the regular season, fantasy managers should one again be targeting Fried as a fantasy ace.

The New York Yankees and outfielder Juan Soto are still working on a salary figure for the 2024 season. The Yankees agree that Soto will break Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani's arbitration-eligible $30 million record, but they haven't agreed yet on how much Soto will beat it by. The 25-year-old left-handed slugger will be paid handsomely in his first year in the Bronx, but the two sides haven't had contract-extension talks, and many expect Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, to play out the final year of his contract in 2024 before he reaches free agency next winter. Soto got off to a slow start in San Diego in 2023 but quickly turned things around to finish with a career-high 35 home runs while driving in 109, scoring 97 runs and stealing 12 bases while hitting .275. The move to the Yankees gives him a power boost in fantasy and he's going to continue to be one of the best in OBP leagues as a first-round asset.

The Chicago Cubs and infielder Nick Madrigal have settled on a one-year, $1.81 million deal to avoid arbitration. The 26-year-old was hampered by a hamstring injury in the 2023 season but reportedly entered the offseason with no physical restrictions. Despite excellent contact skills and bat control, Madrigal's production at the plate has cratered over the last two seasons. He hit a decent .263 in 2023 but slugged just a pair of home runs and walked in only 3.4% of his plate appearances a season ago. He struck out in only 8.2% of his 294 plate appearances but his 83 wRC+ at the plate represented production 17% below the league average after posting a 71 wRC+ in 59 games in 2022. His fantasy baseball value is minimal as a result.

The Cleveland Guardians and right-hander Shane Bieber have avoided arbitration with a one-year, $13.125 million deal for the 2024 season. The right-hander dealt with injuries that limited him to 21 starts in the 2023 season but he still managed a solid 3.80 ERA in that time. That figure is below the 2020 Cy Young winner's lofty standard as he sports a career 3.27 ERA and his 2023 figure marks his worst number since posting a 4.55 ERA as a rookie in 2018. However, the 28-year-old's most noticeable drop came in his strikeout rate which dipped to just 20.1% versus his 27.8% career mark and a massive 41.1% clip in his COVID-shortened 2020 Cy Young season. Fantasy managers will certainly hope he can regain his strikeout stuff and return to full form (and health) in the 2024 campaign.

The Chicago White Sox and first baseman Andrew Vaughn have avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.25 million deal for the 2024 campaign. The young slugger took over full-time duty at first base following the departure of Jose Abreu in the 2023 season and went on to hit .258 with 21 home runs and a .743 OPS across 615 trips to the plate. However, his subpar 5.9% BB% lowered his overall value at the plate as his 103 wRC+ registered just 3% above the league average. Nonetheless, it was the third straight season the former third-overall pick increased his home run total but he has still fallen below lofty expectations with 53 home runs across 413 big-league games, averaging 17.7 home runs per season across his first three big-league campaigns.