Wanting to fill a hole in their launch rotation, the Rays turned to a familiar face: Chris Archer. Archer agreed to a $ 6.5 million one-year deal with the Rays, sources told MLB.com on Tuesday. The club has not confirmed the deal, which has not yet been finalized.
To fill a hole in their launch rotation, the rays turned to a familiar face:
Archer agreed to a $ 6.5 million one-year deal with the Rays, sources told MLB.com on Tuesday. The club has not confirmed the deal, which has not yet been finalized.
Archer made his debut with the Rays in 2012, starting with Tampa Bay four times on opening day and two American League All-Star teams from 2012-18. The Rays turned the right-handed to the pirates before the 2018 close of trading, a deal that landed right-handed Tyler Glasnow, outfielder Austin Meadows and pitching prospect Shane Baz.
Archer struggled with injuries and attacks of ineffectiveness in 33 starts for Pittsburgh, going 6-12 with 4.92 ERA. He was limited by hernia operations, inflammation of the right thumb, inflammation of the right shoulder and, most recently, the neurogenic thorax outlet syndrome. Archer was absent from pitch last season after a TOS surgery in June and did not rehabilitate with the pirates last year due to protocols put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Either way, Archer is healthy and should be ready for spring training. The 32-year-old posted on Instagram in October that his “arm speed is back!” And posted videos of himself tossing in December. At best, Archer has been a sustained strike artist for the Rays, averaging 202 innings and 227 strikes per season from 2014-17. Perhaps better health – and a more familiar environment – will lead to better results for Archer.
The Rays have been looking for a veteran arm ever since they traded ace left-handed Blake Snell for the Padres and saw right-handed Charlie Morton leave to sign with Atlanta. They chased free-agent starter Corey Kluber and trade candidate Jameson Taillon, both of whom had ended up with division rivals Yankees.
When the deal is closed, Archer would likely get into a Rays rotation that currently features Glasnow, Ryan Yarbrough and Michael Wacha. You have a number of options for last seat when everyone is healthy and ready for opening day, including Josh Fleming, Shane McClanahan, Brendan McKay, Brent Honeywell Jr., and Luis Patiño.
