Pirates GM Neal Huntington discussed Chris Archer’s future with the team both during his Sunday morning radio show and in conversations with reporters today (including Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and MLB.com’s Adam Berry), and strongly implied that the Bucs were going to pick up their $9MM club option on the righty for the 2020 season. Though Archer is currently on the IL with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, Huntington said that Archer’s current health status didn’t impact the Pirates’ decision on his option, and spoke as though he expects Archer to be part of Pittsburgh’s rotation mix next season.
“There’s a lot to like with Chris Archer. We want to make sure that we do the right thing by him,” Huntington said. “We don’t want him to feel like he has to come back out to earn his spot. We see some really positive signs. We recognize the issues and challenges, but we see some really positive signs and expect Chris is going to be a really good major league pitcher again next year.”
Archer has posted subpar numbers since coming to the Bucs at the 2018 trade deadline, posting a 4.92 ERA, 2.78 K/BB rate, 1.7 HR/9, and 10.6 K/9 over 172 innings in the black-and-gold. It’s a far cry from the controllable, front-of-the-rotation arm the club felt it was getting from the Rays, especially given that the Pirates gave up a collection of young talent that now looks like an absolute steal. Austin Meadows has developed into a very good everyday player for Tampa, Tyler Glasnow was pitching like an ace before being sidelined with injuries, and even Shane Baz (the somewhat overlooked third member of the prospect package) is rated by MLB.com as the sixth-best prospect in the Rays’ farm system.
In part because letting Archer go for nothing would make this trade seem even more lopsided, there was little question the Pirates would be picking up that $9MM option, regardless of his struggles. It was Archer’s controllable years that made him such an attractive trade commodity in the first place. The original six-year, $25.5MM extension Archer signed with Tampa Bay in March 2014 also contained the $9MM option for 2020 (with a $1.75MM buyout) and an $11MM club option for 2021 ($250K buyout).
The Pirates’ rotation will already miss Jameson Taillon next season since Taillon will be recovering from Tommy John surgery, so beyond hoping that at least a couple of their younger arms emerge, Pittsburgh will likely be on the lookout to add at least one more veteran arm to the pitching mix this offseason. $9MM for one season is a decent price for a league-average starter, so if Archer’s salary isn’t exorbitant if he can pitch to even an adequate level next year.
As to whether Archer will pitch again in 2019, Huntington said the right-hander will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days after receiving a second opinion about his shoulder. While Archer is out, Dario Agrazal will continue to fill his spot in the rotation, with Huntington noting that the rookie right-hander is one of many young players who have an opportunity to show their wares as the Pirates play out the stretch. “Dario is going to do everything in his power to earn a rotation spot going forward,” the GM said, adding that he sees Agrazal as a starting pitcher rather than a reliever.
Baz being 6th best in the Rays #1 farm system is comparable to a 1 or 2 in most others making the trade downright embarrassing highway robbery.
How have the pirates management not been fired?
The most one sided trade I can think of since the Indians got (essentially) Brandon Phillips, Cliff Lee, and Grady Sizemore for Bartolo Colon.
At least Bartolo pitched well for the Expos that year, and went on to have a very good career.
Guys career was covered by roids. Colon is one of the biggest dirtbags to put on a MLB uniform.
Who cares? Al least he didn’t beat his wife.
^^^Ignorant take^^^
Clean house. They all failed. Other Teams have injuries and still win. Need new leadership with new philosophy.
A complete one year wonder. This is why you trade for consistency instead of those who’ve only had one good season. Same thing is being experienced with the Trevor Bauer trade, he had one incredible year and the rest of his career an ERA above 4 and now he’s cradling in Cincy.
Are you referring to Archer? He had more than one solid year in TB. If you meant cratering, that’s not quite accurate. Bauer has been inconsistent on a night/day level. The Archer trade is almost unbelievably bad at this point. With the performances having such a stark contrast, easy to imagine much of NH’s job security may be tied to Archer doing well and he’s re-upping on the Archer investment.
Archer had 2 very good years with the Rays in 2014-15. Sort of a good #2 or #3.
He started regressing in 2016 – maybe due to the workload (he looks and acts frail), maybe other things – and has consistently continued to regress to this day.
He was obviously down-sliding when the Pirates traded for him at the deadline in mid-2018. While he was being built up by sports media sites such as this one as some sort of an ace, one would think the professional scouts and evaluators of the Pirates would have seen the obvious. I did, and I’m not a professional scout. All I can think of is that they saw his team-friendly contract and in a combination of desperation and delusion about their ability to coach pitching, and figured that he would lead them to the NL Central crown in 2018 and beyond.
In time, all 3 of those players will do more for the Rays then Archer does for the Pirates…..and for less money.
_
Re-read Huntington:
“We want to make sure that we do the right thing by him,” Huntington said. “We don’t want him to feel like he has to come back out to earn his spot.”
Yes, heaven forbid an under-performing player on the losing Pirates should have to be challenged to “earn his spot”.
The owners have to think long-and-hard about bringing Huntington back next year. If this is the mentality from the top, then maybe the problem is not the Manager and Coaching Staff.
“The full slate of teams who have submitted (or plan on submitting) an offer for Archer isn’t yet known. Over the weekend, the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and Cardinals were all connected rather prominently to Archer, though Fancred’s Jon Heyman tweeted today that the Yankees are viewed as an “unlikely” fit for Archer. Sherman added earlier today that the Pirates have jumped into the mix as well, while the Brewers and the Athletics have both at least touched base.”
So, the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals, Brewers and A’s professional scouting staffs all missed it, too?
If Archer was traded to one of those teams and regressed, would that team be blamed or would Archer be blamed? At some point, this is on Chris.
And while I agree the Pirates generally let people get too comfortable (and that that comment is absurd), the reality is Archer is mentally fragile. It might sound good to demand tough love for him, but he’ll crack. Honey might not work, but vinegar will fail.
Again, at some point, the finger has to get pointed back to Archer.
I agree. A year ago, many applauded the Pirates for going out and getting Archer and Kela. Glasnow was viewed largely as a AAAA guy who looked like he would never pan out in the bigs. Meadows had never show any power nor much of an average even in the minors and Baz was said to be having control issues. A year later the Pirates should have known that Kela would continue to be a head case and that Archer was a bum. On top of that they should have known that Glasnow would look like Cy Young this year and that Meadows would be the second coming of Ted Williams. Those ripping the Pirates ignore the fact that Glasnow has been on the IL for months now and that Meadows regressed after May 31st to his former self. I hope for both their sake that Glasnow returns healthy and Meadows finds consistency somewhere between the 1st 2 months and the 3 months since. Still a long way off to see what Baz will be. I hope that Archer gets his health back and finds consistency as well.
The Pirates have become laughing stock of NL. Change is needed across the board. Mr. Nutting, How many more empty seat do you need to see that your Leadership Team and self imposed low budget isn’t producing a competitive productive. Please provide transparency on the millions that you have pocketed from MLB revenue sharing that hasn’t been reinvested into Pirates. As an owner he is willing to do as he wants under the current MLB rules. Sports are not only a business but, also a competitive game. The other MLB Teams know the gig in Pittsburgh and exploit it. Stop the sham.
When Archer leave Pirates he will be a good pitcher again but not before.
“So, the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals, Brewers and A’s professional scouting staffs all missed it, too?”
@ forwhomjoshbelltolls;
1. How do you know all those teams were in on him? This site reported for numerous times for months (quoting others) that the Nationals were in on Harper right up until the Phillies signed him. Later Boras stated that the Nationals never even called him.
2. Obviously none of those teams beat the Pirates offer. So what exactly did they offer?
3. Do you think even a one of those teams viewed Archer as an Ace, as the Pirates did?
The fact that NH and Hurdle are under contract through 2021 means it is all but certain they will be back, as Bob Nutting is not the kind of guy who will pay people not to work for him.
I trust Rosenthal, Morosi, Sherman et al over Scott Boras, in any situation.
If Scott Boras told me the sun still existed, I’d look up at the sky.
And Taillon was the ace.
Bauer> Archer
So, Archer is overrated based on one good season….
But, based on his EIGHT starts with TB this year, Glasnow is the next Randy Johnson?
This
The jury is still out on Archer but the trade was overwhelmingly stacked in the Rays’ favor
People can carp about Meadows being inconsistent all they want but it’s nonsense. Reynolds came along quickly and can you imagine those two guys out there?
But Glasnow always had promise. You’d think the role of a pitching coach is to also teach and refine. A 24 year old tipping 100 on the gun may not be in Cy Young territory but jeez, work with the kid’s head. It’s disappointing that guys like Morton and even Cole have “found themselves” after going to other teams.
Meanwhile, if the Pirates are prioritizing catching in the off season, and if Keller is the only young arm in the minors who looks to help, what choice do they have but to keep Archer?
Don’t know what it will look like given time—especially if Baz comes along— but it still looks like an awful trade
Huntington saying that Agrazal is “going do everything in his power to earn a rotation spot going forward” is the equivalent of an honest person flat out saying “we aren’t going to get any significant pitching this offseason, we’ll try again with the crap we have and see what happens”.
It’s almost as if the team cuts it’s payroll when it’s revenue drops.
Hard to afford a cavalry with a $50 million payroll.
Nutting needs to put WAAAAY more money into payroll. Period.
You know, you’re 100% right but add a caveat: the Pirates scouting and farm system must do a much better job in assessing players and refining their talents. Nutting is a horrible owner but boy, what happened to scouting and the farm system?
Agree completely TOD.
Do you think the Pirates have a big budget for scouts, coaches, etc.?
I have no knowledge, but, if I had to guess…
Hopefully some of the Agrazal doing “everything in his power” includes striking out a guy once in a while.
Picking up his option is cheaper than finding a pitcher on the open market. I swear Huntington gets a tiny budget for the players payroll while the lion’s share of the revenue goes into the grounds crew at PNC Park
You can find a reclamation project that can pitch to a mid 5 era for way less than Archer’s option.
You don’t really have a choice but to keep him entering next season. Nothing he can do next year will make it any worse except if you cut him and he had success somewhere else making less money.
“We don’t want him to feel like he has to come back out to earn his spot.”
Seriously? How does Huntington still have a job?
I don’t want my employees to feel that their job is based on performance.
-Michael Scott
Because it’s unlikely they’d be able to replace him with someone better.
Would you prefer Jack Zurendzik (no clue how to spell his name)?
C’mon, NH should feel the heat like any employee. He wasn’t given an appointment to the Supreme Court. Lots of people could do at least as well as he has in that job.
Now if Nutting is pleased with NH, that’s another story.
The Bucs are getting into vintage Kevin McClatchy territory–granted, McClatchy deserves a ton of credit for keeping the Bucs in Pittsburgh when that was not exactly a given going forward,, but there was a painful lack of accountability during his tenure, e.g., the Dave Littlefield Reign Of Terror. At this point, the Pirates are neither competitive nor seemingly committed to any sort of plan to be competitive in the future, and someone needs to be held accountable for that–and, frankly, that needs to start with Huntington.
I’m going to have to remember to stop reading any articles where Huntington is interviewed because I just get frustrated reading his version of reality.
Reading Huntington’s comments, is like still believing in the tooth fairy after 3 failed attempts to get that dollar for your tooth. Someone isn’t doing their job and needs to be replaced. Hell, the owner needs replaced as well. Until the organization is in better hands, I refuse to buy anything remotely close to the Pittsburgh Pirates merchandise and tickets. I cancelled by MLB subscription since I have no interest in following the Pirates anymore. I spent my whole life watching the Pirates lose from the 90s on and held out hope for the team to be better for years to come. 2 years of good baseball doesn’t cut it for me. New owner and commitments to put a winner on a field year in and year out, I will return. Until then, all you faithful fans can enjoy another 20+ years of losing!
Enough of the Pirates BS year after year. Even the announcers are leaving.mThey can’t continue to watch. The Team has quit after the All Star Break. There is no depth in minors to provide assistance when injuries occur. You have to ask yourself the question … Are the Pirates truly committed to be competitive. I think they are a joke and have not been honest to fans that have spent their hard earned dollars to buy tickets, jerseys,etc. Poorly managed organization that should be embarrassed.
Been a pirates fan since the 70’s and still will watch them on occasion. But the days of arranging my schedule to either go to a game or watch it are over. A true owner would clean house as the team since the all star break is embarrassing to watch. Should let Archer go and admit your mistake. Rutherford does this all the time and moves on. If we aren’t going to sign Bell long term trade him now. Trade Marte as well and get young pitching, catching and outfielders.
If Huntington and Hurdle are back next year it will tell the fan base that winning is not important but making money is all that matters. Sad time to be growing up in Pittsburgh and a baseball fan as our kids are not seeing a professional product on and off the field. One last item, must clean house as scouts can’t draft kids that will grow up and contribute as a star. We have a few kids that are performing ok but no stars have been dragged in the last 11-12 years
The Pirates are a farse. The same old, same old with this ownership and leadership. Ask any opponent in the NL, the Pirates are the laughing stock of 5he league and poor performance by management, ownership needs to be mad3 accountable. No half measures!!!
Drafted
Have the Pirates fired the GM that made this trade? I mean if not they should at least take him out behind the shed for a beating.
With Taillon likely out, Kuhl in question.. pretty much have too.
If everyone was healthy going into the off season it would be dumb to keep him on the roster… but as it stands its dumb to not keep him.
Archers health has no bearing on the decision to exercise his option? An injured player is worthless. Archer is done. Just a waste of 9M.
Unless Archer has one of those Cy Young seasons next year where he also finishes in the Top 5 in the MVP Vote, I will never understand why everyone thought he was a cross between Nolan Ryan and Jesus on the mound, much less why the Pirates gave up so much to get him. He’s Ricky Nolasco with cooler hair. That’s it..
Maybe it’s me but Archer seems to be one of the most overrated starting pitchers in baseball.
don’t drink the kool aid huntington is passing out…
You are looking at the option wrong. If the option in $9.0 million, but the buyout is $1..75 million, then the cost of picking up the option is just $7.25 million. 2021 will be when they fish or cut bait with an $11 million option and a $250K buyout.. Who else would the Pirates add for $7.25 million next year? Maybe it changes if they fire NH and Hurdle, but for now NH will exercise the option and then do some more dumpster diving.