Blue Jays: Chris Archer garnering interest from teams

Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported yesterday that pitcher Chris Archer is garnering a ton of interest in trade talks from teams around the league.

Although the Blue Jays have not been specifically linked to Chris Archer, he would be the exact hurler to craft the starting rotation into a legitimate contender. The Rays will undoubtedly have to be blown away to move Archer, especially to a divisional rival however the Jays have the pieces on the farm to get a deal done.

Marcus Stroman would definitely approve of this deal as he and Archer are good buddies and all over social media with one another during the offseason. Topkin sited the Braves, Brewers, Cubs, Twins, and Cardinals as teams that have checked in with the Rays on Archer but you would have to assume all 29 teams would if the Rays are even remotely considering moving the hurler.

The ace is only owed $34 million over the next 4 seasons however the small market Rays are always looking to shed salary. So far this offseason the Rays are reportedly shopping Alex Colome with Evan Longoria also coming up in trade talks. They are in all probability losing pitcher Alex Cobb to a new team via free agency this offseason.

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Archer has had an inflated earned run average north of 4.00 over the past two seasons but is still one of the games best pitchers when he is on. In 2017, Archer was 10-12 with a 4.07 ERA fanning 249 in 201 innings on the bump. He was only a 1.2 WAR player last season but has accumulated an 11.9 WAR rating over six seasons in the majors.

If the Jays were willing to part with a big arm like Nate Pearson and then some complimentary pieces like Reese McGuire, Sean Reid-Foley or even Dalton Pompey that may be enough to at least get the Rays talking.

Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins confirmed they are talking to multiple starting pitchers and relievers and will more than likely add another infielder.

Next: Toronto Blue Jays Winter Meetings Tracker

Tis the season to speculate and ponder potential fits, some other names hitting the MLB rumour mill yesterday were Matt Harvey, Kyle Schwarber, Marcell Ozuna, and Jackie Bradley Jr. We will wait and see what “Day 2” has in store for us at the Winter Meetings in Florida.