The Pirates made the splash of the trade deadline today by acquiring RHP Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays. Going back to Tampa Bay in the deal is Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and a player to be named later.
The Pirates receive the top starter on the market that is under cheap team control through 2021. While there’s questions about whether Archer is an ace or just a 2 or 3 starter is a moot point because he’s an excellent pitcher regardless. Some of his overlying numbers won’t suggest that but his underlying ones do. His K/9 is still close to 10 despite some “struggles” in that department and projects to improve slightly there. Also, his BB/9 is still low so his control is still very viable. He has also pitched to a .343 BABIP, well above the average of .300. As a result, his ERA may be 4.31 but his FIP of 3.62 means he’s pitched better than what his ERA shows and should settle in as a quality pitcher once again. Additionally, despite “struggling” (he’s not), he is still going to hit close to 3 WAR this season and is only a year removed from hitting 4.6 WAR as a pitcher. He projects to be better the rest of this year and in the future.
As for what the Pirates gave up, it was expendable pieces in my opinion. Glasnow will be better in Tampa Bay but was only a reliever in Pittsburgh. Meadows is currently being blocked by Dickerson and the Pirates OF depth in the minors is awesome. The PTBNL won’t be Keller or Hayes and may not even be Baz (and Swaggerty can’t be dealt yet) so that’s all four of the Pirates top 100 prospects by MLB Pipeline and none will go in this deal most likely (Baz would be most likely of them to go but I don’t envision it). It’s a hefty return to the Rays but nothing the Pirates can’t recover from.
In my opinion, both teams did very well. Rays reputation with pitchers will help Glasnow reach his potential and Meadows is really good. For the Pirates, they got a proven starter to go with Taillon and eventually Keller for a few years.
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