The Pirates have struck a trade to acquire starter Chris Archer from the Rays, according to Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). Talented young players Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow will both go to Tampa Bay, Jim Bowden of The Athletic tweets, with a third player also in the deal, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
If this swap is completed, it’ll bring an end to a long-running trade saga involving Archer. The talented right-hander has been viewed as a target for years, with rival organizations intrigued not only by his big innings and strikeout totals, but also his extremely valuable contract.
Archer inked a six-year, $25.5MM swap early in 2014. The agreement includes two option seasons at the end. While the very cheapest years have already gone into the books, there are some affordable campaigns remaining. Archer is earning just $6.25MM this year and $7.5MM next, followed by $9MM and $11MM club options that have a combined $2MM in buyouts.
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