Chris Archer, Pittsburgh Pirates
Unlike the rest of the NL Central, the Pirates have been rather quiet this winter. They did make some intriguing moves at last July’s non-waiver trade deadline, which included the acquisition of Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays.
He was productive in 2018, but not at the level we’ve come to expect from the right-hander. While Archer posted 2.4 fWAR between his two stops, his 4.31 ERA was the third straight year that number settled in higher than 4.00. It was also the second straight year his line-drive rate allowed was at least 22.0% with a hard-hit rate allowed that was at least 39.0%.
This is an important year for the 30-year-old for a number of reasons, with one of them being his contract status. This is the final guaranteed year of a very team-friendly six-year, $25.5 million deal he signed with Tampa, which includes club options for 2020 and 2021. If he pitches well enough, Pittsburgh will undoubtedly pick up those options when the time comes. But if not, he could find himself on the free-agent market, which hasn’t been fun for a number of notable players the past couple offseasons.
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