San Diego Padres: Pros & Cons Of Trading For Chris Archer

There has been no shortage of action from the San Diego Padres’ front office.  They finally ended up nabbing the biggest fish in free agency. However, is it wrong to ask for another high-profile move? I say, most definitely not!

The San Diego Padres’ starting lineup looks to be set. Come April, Andy Green will have his hands full coming up with the final 25-man roster.  He will surely have some difficult decisions to make.  The likes of Hunter Renfroe, Cory Spangenberg, Jose Pirela, Travis Jankowski will all be vying for starting berths.

Padres’ pitching though is far from elite.  Clayton Richard is expected to take the mound on Opening Day and, let’s be honest, he is no Clayton Kershaw.  The Friars have a talent-rich farm system.

Cal Quantrill and hopefully MacKenzie Gore will be opening-day ready come twenty-twenty one.  This is why the Padres must make one more move to sign an all-star starting pitcher.  Chris Archer might be the answer.

Although the Tampa Bay Rays have come out and said that they would most likely not be selling off any more of their roster, it wouldn’t be completely far-fetched to think that they would move Archer for the right price.

Who is Chris Archer, and what could he bring to the San Diego Padres?

Chris Archer is from the same draft class as Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, and Tim Lincecum.  He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB Draft. He made his way through the Cleveland and Chicago systems before eventually ending up with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Chris Archer would be an immediate upgrade at the pitching position and will probably slot into being the Opening Day starter for the San Diego Padres.  He would be the equivalent the recent addition of Eric Hosmer to the Padres’ lineup, but to this up-and-coming group of young pitchers.

Pluses

• At twenty-nine, Chris Archer is at his prime and barring any setbacks, he should be able to play at the highest level for the next five-six years.
• He has never missed time for an extended period due to injury and this augurs well for this young Padres unit.  Archer has consistently pitched in the neighborhood of 200 innings and has started in at least thirty-two games over the last four years.
• His ERA of 3.63 in over 967 IP and SO/9 rate of 9.7 is impressive, to say the least.  Chris Archer should be able to find his groove from day one in the pitcher-friendly Petco Park.
• Will be a good guiding force for the San Diego Padres’ young hurlers

Next: Padres Are Anticipating Arrival of Quantrill

Minuses

• The Tampa Bay Rays will definitely seek to maximize their returns.  The Padres will have to let go of a future all-star (Hunter Renfroe?).

Only time (and A.J.Preller) will tell if Chris Archer ends up in San Diego.  For now, our guess is as good as yours!