The hot stove season is officially upon us...and with it comes the beginning of the GM meetings and oodles and oodles of trade rumors.
It is no secret that the Braves are in search of starting pitching. Estimates exist from various pundits that the Braves are looking to add 1-3 starting pitchers this offseason. For the most part, fans and experts alike assumed that the Braves would target guys who wanted shorter, “make good” type of deals to allow for their impressive crop of pitching in the minors to take the reins in a couple of seasons.
However, despite recent claims by Coppy that signing a top starter is unlikely and trading for one would cost more assets/prospects than the Braves want to give up, the Braves have been careful to leave all options on the table.
It appears that includes exploring a trade with the Rays for one of the more desirable names on the trade market.
#Braves have spoken with the #Rays about Chris Archer, among other controllable starters, sources say. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 8, 2016
There are a number of controllable starters on the Rays staff and other teams, so we will move on from who else they have asked about. What is interesting here is that the Braves have had enough interest in Archer to actually be reported. That hardly means that a deal is a slam dunk or even likely, but it definitely will be a storyline this offseason until either A) The Braves fill all the spots in their rotation or B) the Rays trade Archer.
Archer is coming off a somewhat down year for him with a 9-19 record with a 4.02 ERA to go along with a 3.81 FIP. However, the Rays were pretty bad this year and he was a top 5 Cy Young in 2015 and still strikes out better than 10 batters per 9 innings. He is also under a very team friendly deal and wouldn’t be a free agent until 2022 when team options are taken into consideration.
In short, yes the Braves have definitive interest in Archer and is among a handful of teams that have the prospects to make a deal. Its also true that the other teams that do have the assets to make the deal (plus assuredly others who don’t) will also want Archer. We will keep you updated throughout the offseason on this and many other stories as they develop.