Yankees Rumors: Interest shown in veteran right-hander Chris Archer

Just because trading within the same division can often be tricky, doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The Yankees have recently scouted right-hander Chris Archer, while the Rays have taken stock of some of the Yanks’ lower-level prospects.

With the pace of transactions beginning to pick up around Major League Baseball, we’re still waiting for something other than rumors to creep out of the Bronx. Unfortunately, with eight full days to go until the non-waiver trade deadline, rumors and innuendo are all we’re getting out of the Yankees.

Today’s variety pertains to a right-handed pitcher that the Yanks are very familiar, being that he plies his trade in the highly-competitive AL East; Chris Archer.

Archer is coming off a season-high 13 strikeout performance on Sunday, despite allowing four runs (three earned) in the second inning versus the Marlins.

The Yankees were one of a dozen curious teams in attendance to watch the 29-year-old scatter eight hits across six innings while not allowing a single walk in the no-decision.

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With representatives from the Rays recently spotted at some Yankees Rookie League games, and the news of the Yanks taking a shine to both Archer and former pinstriper Nathan Eovaldi — Archer picked a perfect time to show some of the resolve that has led to two All-Star Game appearances in seven big league seasons.

Archer’s career stats are much more inspiring than what he’s shown over the past few seasons, especially this year for a Rays club that is in the midst of another rebuild.

This season’s 4.30 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .269 BAA and 9.5 H/9 pales in comparison to his career stats of a 3.69 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .238 BAA and 8.1 H/9.

Although Archer has only won three times across 90 innings pitched, it’s important to note that he’s never won more than 12 games in any one season (2015, when he threw 212 innings). As a matter of fact, the North Carolina native’s 9.9 K/9, 1.0 HR/9 and 2.9 BB/9 are all better/equal to his career numbers.

Signed through 2021, to an extremely club-friendly $27.5 million contract, the Yankees would only be on the hook for a little more than $3 million for the remainder of this season, keeping them well below the luxury tax threshold, potentially allowing for the addition of another arm.

Archer’s deal is only guaranteed in 2019 for $7.5 million — as the following two seasons contain club options for $8.25 million — a $1.75 million buyout in 2020 and a $250K buyout in 2021.

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Depending on the haul of prospects the Rays were to ask for, the reward for acquiring Archer’s 12.1 career WAR and small sample size of Postseason experience (2013), seem to outweigh the risk.