Tampa Bay Rays starting pitchers could be more in play for trades

The Tampa Bay Rays have recently acquired Dodgers top pitching prospect Jose De Leon in a trade. This puts them in a good position in the rotation with Archer, Odorizzi, Snell, De Leon, and Cobb, with many other guys behind them that can easily contribute. The Rays may not be in a position to compete fully in 2017 and have a good bit of starting pitching ready for the future. Therefore, the time may be now for the Rays to deal from their depth. Now, they've already dealt Drew Smyly, but they could very easily deal one more and still have a good stockpile of guys that can fill-in. That being said, it is worth wondering if the Pirates would be seriously interested in one of the guys the Rays have. I mean, there's been interest from the Pirates in the Rays starters in the past, so it's not too far off to think they'd look that way again. Let's take a look at the potential options the Pirates could look deeply into. 

1) Chris Archer: I've talked about Archer in the past, and how he'd be the guy I'd go after heavily. However, it is unrealistic to think that the Rays would even trade him at this point for anything that's not a legendary offer. So, don't expect Chris Archer in black and gold in 2017.

2) Jake Odorizzi: Odorizzi is a middle-rotation starter that would fill any rotation as he is bonafide and solid. He would look great in the middle of the rotation with Nova and would give the Pirates another solid, more veteran presence to fill in the rotation behind Cole and Taillon. However, he would also cost a lot to get and Newman would probably be placed in this deal. However, three years of Odorizzi makes a decision such as this intriguing to think about. 

3) Alex Cobb: Cobb is a very interesting case. He has been injured a lot and didn't look good in a brief amount of time in 2016. However, he is a good bounce back candidate with only one year left on his contract at a cheap rate financially. He would also take far less in prospect cost to acquire than the others, and the Pirates would likely be intrigued by his skills and bounce back chances and decide to take him as a low-risk, high-reward candidate. 

Any of these three guys would be nice adds for the Pirates, and outside of Archer, it wouldn't cost the Pirates a chunk of the farm system. I think getting Odorizzi or Cobb would be a very smart move for the Pirates to make because it wouldn't cost them a Glasnow, a Bell, or a Meadows, which is nice. However, as I said previously, going over the top for Archer would be a great move, as long as it wouldn't cost them their top 5 prospects, which it just might actually. Odorizzi would provide the Pirates with longer-term control and has been consistent, therefore he'd cost more to acquire. Cobb, on the other hand, while costing less to acquire, would come with less team control and many question marks. In the end, if the Pirates can't find a deal they like for any other starters, then they should look no further than the Rays, and I think the two teams would match up well on a trade here.