Could this be the year the Tampa Bay Rays finally trade Chris Archer?
According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, as many as eight teams have asked the Rays about Archer, and there is “strong interest” throughout the league. This may be enough to inspire the Rays to move their star pitcher after years of trade rumors.
The Diamondbacks, Cubs, Padres and Phillies have all shown some level of interest in acquiring Archer, who is under team control through the 2021 season. His value has risen as many other potential trade pieces in the starting pitching market have been hurt, struggled, or been deemed unavailable by their teams.
Archer has a 4.30 ERA this season and his strikeouts are down, so it may come as a surprise that the 29-year-old may actually be moved even though his value isn’t as high as it’s ever been, especially after the Rays kept him in spite of massive cost-cutting measures elsewhere. The team control makes him valuable, though, and his underlying numbers remain good.
