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MLB Trade Rumors: Top 10 remaining offseason trade candidates

By Joshua Sadlock

MILWAUKEE, WI - SEPTEMBER 15: Christian Yelich #21 of the Miami Marlins walks through the dugout before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 15, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - SEPTEMBER 15: Christian Yelich #21 of the Miami Marlins walks through the dugout before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on September 15, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 24: Chris Archer #22 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 24, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Orioles won 9-4. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 24: Chris Archer #22 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 24, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Orioles won 9-4. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

3. Chris Archer

At the Winter Meetings last year, the Boston Red Sox traded the consensus number-one hitting prospect in Yoan Moncada and a pitching prospect whose fastball has been clocked at 105 mph in Michael Kopech to the Chicago White Sox for three years of left-hander Chris Sale. The deal, which signaled the start of a full rebuild for the White Sox, could go down as one of the biggest returns ever if Moncada and Kopech hit their ceiling.

Sale, for his part, was utterly dominant in his first season with the Red Sox and pitched them to a second AL East title in a row.

The Tampa Bay Rays hold an asset of similar value in right-hander Chris Archer, and are teetering on the brink of a total rebuild. While he does not have quite the track record of Sale, who went 70-47 with a 3.04 ERA in five full seasons in the White Sox rotation, Archer is thought of very highly and is signed through 2021 for pennies.

For all the love he receives in some of the more analytically-inclined corners of baseball, Archer is just 19-31 with a 4.05 ERA over the past two seasons. He has struck out nearly 11 per nine in the process, but has been dinged for 57 home runs in 67 starts. At times, he can look unhittable, but at others, Archer struggles with his command and composure on the mound.

Teams trading for Archer will have to do their own homework and determine if the pitcher who posted a 3.26 ERA in over 500 innings from 2013 to 2015 can still be unleashed. Again, Archer still flashes dominance, but in this high-homer environment, he may continue to struggle.

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