Chris Archer reportedly not available unless overwhelming offer is made

As the August 1 MLB trade deadline nears, we’ve heard ad infinitum that this is a sellers’ market taking shape before us this year. The Tampa Bay Rays are our latest proof of that much.

According to a report by Buster Olney of ESPN on Sunday, Rays All-Star pitcher Chris Archer is not available for trade unless a totally overwhelming offer is made.

Rays have told teams Chris Archer is not available unless somebody totally overwhelms them. So, he's not available.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 17, 2016

Archer, 27, has been mostly lousy in 2016, going 4-13 with a 4.68 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, and 136 strikeouts. But the Rays aren’t being fooled into selling low on him. Even if hasn’t been pitching like one lately, Archer is still the ace of the Tampa Bay staff, and this season has seemed more like a regression from the mean than anything. He’s suffered through some rotten luck with an unsustainably bad .310 opposing batting average on balls in play and has had to work with one of the MLB’s worst offenses (Tampa’s 348 total runs scored on the season ranks 27th in the league).

While it might be tempting to cash out on the right-hander for some much-needed batting help, the Rays are smart to stand pat on Archer for anything less than the kitchen sink.

H/T theScore

*Stats courtesy of ESPN*