Back to the Pittsburgh Pirates Newsfeed

Revisiting the Pirates trade for Chris Archer

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 and above average K/9IP rates. In addition, he had been a dependable starter, logging at least 194 IP each of the previous four seasons.

Many felt that Archer simply required a change of scenery, as the Rays were not contending and some felt that was a major reason behind the slight decline in his numbers.