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MLB Trade Rumors: 5 teams who should target Chris Archer

By Joshua Sadlock

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 13: Chris Archer #22 of the Tampa Bay Rays in action against the New York Yankees at Citi Field on September 13, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Rays 3-2. The two teams were scheduled to play in St. Petersburg, Florida but due to the weather emergency caused by Hurricane Irma, the game was moved to New York, but with Tampa Bay remaining the 'home' team. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 13: Chris Archer #22 of the Tampa Bay Rays in action against the New York Yankees at Citi Field on September 13, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Yankees defeated the Rays 3-2. The two teams were scheduled to play in St. Petersburg, Florida but due to the weather emergency caused by Hurricane Irma, the game was moved to New York, but with Tampa Bay remaining the 'home' team. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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The Tampa Bay Rays are still shopping right-hander Chris Archer, and these five teams should blow them away with a big offer.

It is looking more and more likely that the Tampa Bay Rays are going to wave the white flag on their current window of contention and enter rebuilding mode. Trading All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria to the San Francisco Giants should have been but the opening salvo for the Rays as they attempt to retool and find a new avenue to fielding a competitive team in the AL East. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are loading up, and the Rays have not made the playoffs or finished above .500 since 2013.

It’s time for the Rays to regroup, and their top remaining trade chip is right-handed starter Chris Archer. The 29-year-old will be extremely attractive on the trade block for multiple reasons, and Tampa Bay should do everything in their power to cash in now.

In a year where the best free-agent starters are in their mid-30s and come with plenty of red flags in their medical file, Archer is a huge bargain from a cost standpoint. He is owed only $34.1 million for the next four years. Even if he never lives up to his potential as an ace, getting a number-three starter at worst for less than $9 million per season is a steal. The prospect cost will be prohibitive, but there is very little reason to believe Archer will not outproduce his contract.

After looking like a budding ace from 2013 to 2015, Archer has hit a bump in the road the past two seasons. He is just 19-31 with a 4.05 ERA while allowing 1.3 home runs per nine. Finding consistency will be the biggest key for Archer, who had a 4.66 ERA in the first half of 2016 and a 3.25 mark in the second half. Last year, those were reversed as he pitched to a 3.97 mark in the first half and checked in at 4.25 in the second half.

When Archer commands his pitches, he is one of the best in the league. His strikeout totals continue to trend upwards, and his slider is among the nastiest in baseball. It’s when his command wavers and his fastball leaks out over the plate that he gets hit hard. Archer would also benefit by continuing to develop his changeup into a more viable third pitch. He threw it only 285 times last year and has thrown it less than eight percent of the time for his entire career.

Even taken with his flaws, Chris Archer is still a potential gamechanger for a contending team and comes with an astonishingly low salary. These five teams should be falling all over themselves to make a deal with the Rays.

5. Texas Rangers

Archer has been considered an on-again/off-again trade target for the Texas Rangers since his name first began floating on the trade block. It makes a great deal of sense for Texas to be in the running for a young, controllable starter given their ever-present need for rotation depth. No team has done a better job mining the draft and Latin America for position players, but a sustainable formula for nurturing young pitchers has always eluded the Rangers.

Unless the Rangers are planning to find an extra hundred million to pay Yu Darvish or Jake Arrieta, their starting rotation figures to be extremely underwhelming in 2018, and possibly worse than it was in 2017. Cole Hamels is the only sure thing ahead of Doug Fister, Mike Minor, Matt Moore and Martin Perez. There are no reinforcements coming from the minor leagues.

The Rangers are built to win now, and they should seriously consider doing whatever it takes to give Adrian Beltre at least one more shot in the playoffs before he retires. Archer won’t solve all their problems, but with a dynamic lineup, pairing him with Hamels and hoping for something resembling competence from the rest of the rotation might be enough to win.

It would also not come as a surprise to see the Washington Nationals or Milwaukee Brewers step up and make a big offer to the Rays. The Nationals have weakened their farm system quite a bit in recent years, but still have a few highly-rated prospects to work with. The Brewers are also rumored to be in the hunt for Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish, but could just as easily make a deal for a cheaper starter.

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