Revisiting the Pirates trade for Chris Archer

Chris Archer Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images When the Pirates trade for Chris Archer was first announced, it was initially lauded by many in baseball circles. Many felt that Pittsburgh had secured their top of the rotation starting pitcher for the foreseeable future, while only giving up prospects who were seen as potentially flawed.

While the trade now looks extremely lopsided in favor of the Tampa Bay Rays, one can understand why then Pirates general manager Neal Huntington made the decision to trade for Archer.

At the time, Chris Archer was only 28 years of age and was the ace of the Rays pitching staff. When they traded for him, Archer had maintained a respectable earned run average…