The Tampa Bay Rays and young right handed pitcher Chris Archer have agreed upon a six-year contract that tops out at about the $25 million mark. Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.Com was first to report the deal. The deal actually begins this season and will run through at least 2019. The team has options for the 2020 and 2021 seasons that could make the contract worth upwards of 44 million dollars total if Tampa were to pick up both option years.
Chris Archer has been quite steady since entering the Rays rotation last year. He has 27 starts and 29 total appearances in the big leagues and has posted very respectable numbers – 3.47 ERA , 3.94 FIP and a 1.7 WAR over those outings. Chris strikes out nearly 8 batters per 9 innings and holds opponents to a .259 batting average and strands runners at a 75% clip. One of Archer’s best talents however, appears to be his very cool mentality and calm demeanor on the mound. He has hardly ever taken back by the bright lights of the big show last year and remained calm under every circumstance while pitching for a playoff team last year.
Chris Archer finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting last year. Chris was originally drafted in the fifth round by the Cleveland Indians and later traded to the Cubs in 2008. Tampa acquired him in the Matt Garza trade with the cubs in early 2011. This deal guarantees that the Rays will be able to keep Archer into his free agent years, very similar to what the club did with Matt Moore and James Shields via buying out arbitration eligible years and instead adding very “Rays friendly” years to the initial contract.
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