NORTH PORT, Fla. — In a span of nine months in 2022, the Braves gave contract extensions to five players worth $600 million total, not counting option years.

But with Max Fried, their ace since 2020 and the National League Cy Young runner-up last season, they went to an arbitration hearing for the second consecutive year. The left-hander lost and got the $13.5 million salary Atlanta filed instead of the $15 million he requested.

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Fried must be steamed, many opined on social media and elsewhere.

He’s 29 years old, two years from free agency and hasn’t been offered an extension while so many younger — some much younger — teammates have signed long-term contracts for generational money. Fried still is going year-to-year on contracts after two top-five Cy Young finishes, three Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger award, an All-Star appearance, and an unforgettable performance in a World Series-clinching Game 6 win at Houston in 2021.

He must resent that, right?

Wrong, Fried said. During an interview Friday morning that was his first since arriving at spring training, he dismissed any suggestion that he’s upset about going to arbitration again and not being one of the Braves who’s been offered a long-term extension.

Max Fried on Gold Glover Sean Murphy joining Travis d’Arnaud in the #Braves’ catching tandem.

— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) February 17, 2023

“I’ve kind of seen that’s been more a topic of conversation (in social media) recently,” he said. “Me and the team have always had really good dialogue. We’ve been able to have some good communication. I’ve really loved my time here and I love the team, so if that comes to the table it will be something we think about.”

Fried was a top prospect recovering from Tommy John surgery when the Padres traded him to the Braves in December 2014. He made his major-league debut in 2017, became a full-time member of the rotation in 2019, and has a 52-20 record and 3.06 ERA in 102 games including 99 starts over four seasons, including 35-14 with a stellar 2.68 ERA in 69 starts over the past three.

He has 378 strikeouts with 92 walks and a 159 ERA+ in 407 innings in that three-year span, putting him in the elite tier of starters.

What he doesn’t have is a contract beyond 2023. But if Fried is unhappy about that, he sure did a good job concealing it Friday. He seemed as pleasant, and as driven to win and improve, as ever. He also deflected praise and steered the conversation to the team rather than individual performance, also typical of him.

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About his teammates and friends who’ve received huge contract extensions, including Austin Riley’s franchise-record 10-year, $212 million deal last summer and fellow starter Spencer Strider’s six-year, $75 million deal in October — after Strider’s strikeout-record-smashing rookie season — Fried said, “I couldn’t be happier for them. They’ve worked really hard and they’ve earned it, and they’re extremely talented. I was going up and giving them hugs and sitting in their press conferences.

“It’s kind of life-changing money for people, so it’s being able to just congratulate them and support them. We’re teammates, at the end of the day. But on my side, there’s no anger or animosity or anything. Just two sides going at it in business, that’s kind of the way I see it.”

Fried didn’t hesitate when asked if he would be glad to sign an extension with the Braves if a fair offer was made. “Yes,” he said.

In the meantime, he and the rest of the Braves will prepare for another season that figures to be a rigorous ride in the NL East. The Braves won their fifth consecutive title last season with 101 wins — the same number of wins as the second-place New York Mets — before losing to the division’s third-place team, the Phillies, in an NL Division Series.

The Mets spent at a historic rate this winter and will have a record-setting payroll that dwarfs the Braves’ own franchise-record $200 million this season. The Phillies have also made several big-ticket additions and will have a considerably larger payroll than Atlanta, in terms of actual dollars being spent in 2023.

But the Braves have the confidence that comes with five consecutive division titles and a World Series championship. They have players signed to long-term extensions at six of eight positions including offseason addition Sean Murphy, a Gold Glove catcher. They have a pitching staff that’s perhaps the deepest in the NL, including a rotation featuring Fried, Strider, 2022 major-league wins leader Kyle Wright, and veteran Charlie Morton.

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“We have obviously an extremely talented lineup that can go off for four or five runs in an inning at any given time,” Fried said, before answering a question about the quality and depth of a rotation that should give the Braves at least 5-7 innings and a good chance to win most nights. “To be able to have five, six, seven guys in the rotation able to do that for you, it’s definitely valuable over 162.”

Fried went 14-7 last season for the second year in a row, reduced his ERA from 3.04 in 2021 to 2.48, and had 170 strikeouts with just 32 walks in a career-high 185 1/3 innings. He finished behind unanimous Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, and manager Brian Snitker is among those who believe Fried can take the next step and win a Cy himself at some point, perhaps sooner than later.

“He’s another driven individual that’s never going to be satisfied where he’s at,” Snitker said. “He’s always going to be looking for a way how to improve himself. I just don’t ever see Max being like he’s figured the whole thing out. He’s going to be driven to always try and make himself better. He’s going to always feel like he can be better, which is going to allow him to really tap into what he has going forward.”

Fried’s locker is next to Morton’s in a corner of the spring-training clubhouse at North Port. He loves talking to Morton, who is 10 years older than Fried and was a late-blooming big leaguer. Morton has seen about everything a pitcher can, from injuries and frustrating lows to extreme highs, including championships with Houston and Atlanta.

“If you’re not looking to learn or you’re not looking to get better every day, people are going to pass you,” Fried said. “Whether you’ve got one year in the big leagues or you’ve got 15, I feel like you’re always learning something, trying to make adjustments. Especially with someone like Charlie, who’s been through the ups and downs and experienced a lot that some of us younger players haven’t experienced yet. He’s always a really good sounding board and someone that’s very welcoming at all times, whether it’s on the field, off the field — anything you need, he’s always there for you.”

Like other Braves pitchers, Fried is excited about adding Murphy, who came from Oakland in a December trade and two weeks later signed a six-year, $73 million extension. Murphy is widely regarded as one of the top five overall catchers in baseball, a slugger at the plate and a superb defender with a cannon arm and the majors’ second-fastest “pop time” throwing to second base.

With new rules that could boost stolen bases, including bigger bases and a limit on pitcher’s pickoff throws, Murphy’s defense could be especially valuable.

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“It’s awesome to have him,” Fried said. “We hopped on a phone call over the offseason, just to introduce and talk a little bit. It was nice to have my first bullpen here (in camp) and throw to him, and kind of get that feel. We’ve just had some really good conversations about pitching philosophies, what he likes to see, what I like to see. That’s just one of those relationships that’s going to come with time, more conversations, more experience, getting to know each other. And it’s something that I’m looking forward to.”

Murphy will team with veteran Travis d’Arnaud to give the Braves what might be the best catching tandem in the majors.

“We’ve obviously been extremely grateful to have Travis back there, being able to help us out,” Fried said. “And I’ve only heard unbelievable things about Sean and what he brings, especially with his arm and ability to control the running game. The new changes will obviously be an adjustment; a lot of the guys haven’t experienced it (in the minor leagues). But whenever you have really talented guys, it’s nice to have them on your side.”

(Photo of Fried: David J. Griffin / Associated Press)