Pirates director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Archer reported discomfort in the neck/shoulder area on his right side in March shortly before spring training was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sorry we could not verify that email address. But those teachings seemed to click in Tampa Bay, where he reentered the rotation right after the trade, leaving the bullpen (and his bouts with wildness) behind. In the first half of the decade, Searage developed a reputation for fixing pitchers, thanks to his success with reclamation projects like A.J. Then the Bucs stormed back into the playoff picture, pushing them toward ‘Scenario B,’ adding players for the present and future.”. The Archer trade was defensible on the day it was made in part because the Pirates controlled the righty’s rights for what looked like a bargain total of $27 million through 2021. Even two years ago… the Archer trade just didn’t seem like a very favorable deal for Pittsburgh. The Archer trade, he notes via email, “has proved instrumental as a reference point for valuing tweeners—guys who may have officially graduated from prospect status, and so no longer are being rated as prospects by the major services and therefore falling into a bit of a gray area—but more importantly as a bulwark case against devaluing stock-fallers too much. For the season, he went 10–9 with a 3.33 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 173 strikeouts in 194 2 ⁄ 3 innings pitched. Why Don’t Teams Stop Trading With the Astros? Archer has struggled to find any consistency with the Pirates, while Meadows became an All-Star last season and Glasnow also blossomed. Archer’s 5.19 ERA last year marked a career high. Derrick Henry rushed his way through the Texans while Aaron Rodgers "pumped" his way to an embarrassing loss. ET deadline, we can trust in only one truth: Whatever trade your team makes, it probably won’t look as good, one year later, as the Rays’ return in the Chris Archer trade looks today. Since that 2018 trade, Glasnow has worked his way to becoming the Rays’ next ace starter behind Blake Snell. Archer’s absence this season is another blow to a starting rotation already missing ace Jameson Taillon, who will miss all of 2020 while recovering from a second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Archer remained on a throwing program when he went home but symptoms continued to linger. In September 2016, though, I observed that the Pirates’ pitching magic may have worn off; that season, Pirates pitchers had underperformed. The table below provides the present projections. One year ago, the Pirates dealt Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, and a promising prospect to the Rays for a starter. Miller fell far short of even modest expectations, producing negative-1.3 WAR for Arizona, while the Braves’ trio has amassed 14.2 WAR and counting. Harvey, at 27-years-old, had the same operation done in July of 2016 after logging over 500 innings in the majors. We’ll give you the latest news when it becomes available, or feel free to add some more selections to your settings. Pittsburgh holds an $11 million club option for 2021, with a $250,000 buyout. In the past year, ZiPS has upgraded its evaluation of Glasnow and Meadows by 12.3 WAR while downgrading its read on Archer by 6.2 WAR—and that’s the case even though the system still incorporates the trio’s pre-trade performance. Archer, the two-time All-Star with an escalating salary, a slowing fastball, and a shoulder odometer that recently ticked past 20,000 pitches, has amassed 0.8 Baseball-Reference WAR in 29 starts with the Pirates. If you can recall, Matt Harvey is perhaps the most notable recent star pitcher to go under the knife to fix thoracic outlet syndrome… and his experience following the operation doesn’t leave much optimism for Chris Archer. Arizona’s old-school GM at the time of the Miller trade, former player and agent Dave Stewart—who described himself as “kind of relieved” when the Diamondbacks fired him less than a year later—has no close equivalent among current team-runners. Houston suddenly finds itself in an unenviable position, as does the team’s star. Archer will receive only a portion due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Archer trade reminds us how quickly what looks like a reasonable (if risky) trade can run off the rails. Your existing password has not been changed. The Pirates made an aggressive move in 2018 when it brought in Archer, giving up a top prospect in Meadows in hopes Archer could give the starting rotation a boost in an effort to make the playoffs. In 23 games thus far since being moved to the Rays — all starts — Glasnow has turned in a stingy 2.93 ERA, while also featuring an impressive 10.8 K/9. Looking at the best performances from members of the stacked cast of Aaron Sorkin’s most recent film. Given the long and oftentimes unsuccessful rehab from the operation, plus his current contract situation — he has an $11 million option for the 2021 season, featuring just a $250,000 buyout — it’s likely Archer’s stint in Pittsburgh has come to a crashing end. All rights reserved. Archer was certainly still a capable All-Star pitcher, however, it seemed doubtful that Pittsburgh was gaining enough short-term value in the deal, especially given Glasnow was already contributing as a big-league reliever with 11.6 strikeouts per nine (4.34 ERA) and Meadows had just compiled a .292 AVG in his first 49 games with the Pirates (at the time Baz was only 19-years-old, playing rookie-ball).