Chicago Cubs: Revisiting the infamous Chris Archer trade

Chicago Cubs: The starters involved

First things first – let’s look at the fallout from how the starters involved performed. Garza helped to anchor an otherwise poorly performing Cubs rotation. Not a single starter, outside of Garza, in 2011, posted an ERA south of 4.00. Garza, meanwhile, finished with a 3.32 ERA over 31 starts.

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In 2012, Garza fell backward into his old ways. He suffered an elbow injury midway through the year and was effectively shut down after being placed on the 60-day disabled list in August of that year. Up to that point, Garza had been incredibly ineffective. The righty saw both his ERA and FIP head in the wrong direction.

Chicago traded Garza partway through the 2013 campaign after he had worked to a 3.17 ERA in 71 innings, spelling the end for the right-hander in Chicago. Archer, who started slowly for Tampa Bay, caught fire. From 2013-15, Archer carried a 3.26 ERA and a 117 ERA+.

In 2013, Archer finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting, and in 2015, Archer earned an All-Star nod and finished fifth in Cy Young voting. Garza did not end up being a poor addition for the Cubs, but the subtraction of Archer turned out to be a much larger hit to the organization.