Chris Archer traded to Pirates for Meadows, Glasnow

The unthinkable has finally occurred: The Tampa Bay Rays traded Chris Archer.

After hanging on to Archer through multiple trade deadline periods in the past, the Rays decided to deal the 29-year-old pitcher on Tuesday. They are sending him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a package that includes outfielder Austin Meadows and pitcher Tyler Glasnow, Jim Bowden reports.

That’s a lot to give up for Archer, but the combination of what he can do and his future salaries makes him valuable.

Archer has a 3.69 career ERA and has averaged over a strikeout per inning throughout his career, all spent in the difficult AL East. He’s experiencing a down season at 3-5 with a 4.31 ERA this year, though he’s improved since a rough first month in April.

Archer is signed to an extremely affordable $27.5 million over the next three seasons, which makes him an ideal player for Pittsburgh.

So why did Tampa Bay finally decided this was the time to trade Archer? Receiving a former top-10 pick in Meadows, who will have six seasons of team control, was too tempting. The 23-year-old has batted .293 with a .795 OPS as a rookie this season. Glasnow, 24, has not put things together yet, but the pitcher has a high ceiling. He has a 4.34 ERA in 56 innings this season.