Chicago Cubs: Revisiting the infamous Chris Archer trade

Once upon a time, Chris Archer was a member of the Chicago Cubs.

Long ago, in a different world than our current present, the Cubs had a 20-year-old kid by the name of Chris Archer. Yes, that Chris Archer. Many fans are more than familiar with Archer and who he turned into, but many might not be aware to the fact that Archer was once a top prospect in Chicago’s system.

Heading into the 2009 season, the Cubs were coming off a 97-win season and an appearance in the National League Division Series. Disappointingly, however, the 2009 campaign did not go well as the team finished a balmy 83-78 despite a pitching staff where almost all starters posted a sub-4.00 ERA. A couple of years following, there would be a significant move to shake things up.

To bolster the starting rotation following the 2011 season, the Cubs chose to make a blockbuster deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. The major players in that deal were, of course, Archer, who Baseball America ranked as the 27th best prospect in the 2010 prospect class, and Rays starting pitcher Matt Garza who was coming off a 15-win season.

Chicago Cubs: Impressing in the minors

At 20 years old, Archer made his minor league debut for the Cubs’ former Class-A club, the Peoria Chiefs. In 26 starts, Archer posted an impressive 2.81 ERA over 109 innings. His most eye-popping statistic was the zero home runs he allowed during that span.

The Cubs promoted Archer the following season and again later in the year. He spent 15 games at Class-A Advanced Daytona and 13 games at Double-A Tennessee. In Daytona, Archer carried a 2.86 ERA. In Tennessee, he posted a 1.80 ERA. A combined 2.34 ERA in 142 1/3 innings with a 9.4 K/9 rate.

Archer was so impressive he jumped to the forefront of the trade rumors, and, as a top prospect, became the carrot the Cubs front office began dangling in hopes of immediately changing the scope of their starting core. Shortly after that, the Cubs found a buyer. In a blockbuster move, the Cubs sent Archer, shortstop Hak-Ju Lee, catcher Robinson Chirinos and outfielders Sam Fuld and Brandon Guyer to Tampa Bay.

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.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

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.

Chicago Cubs: The others in play

Typically in an eight-player mega-deal, there are going to be player names nobody recognizes. It turned into that exact case quickly, as guys such as the Lee as mentioned earlier, Fernando Perez and Zac Rosscup. Fuld and Guyer, who were shipped to Chicago, are still much more known than the previous three.

Lee was decent enough for the Rays Class-A Advanced team in 2011, posting a 133 wRC+ with 28 stolen bases in 97 games. Lee hung around the minors for the rest of his career in the United States, never making it to the majors. This year, in the KBO for the Samsung Lions, Lee has hit .186/.265/.314 with a 45 wRC+.

Perez played in only 41 minor league games for the Rays before the trade, never breaking in with the Cubs. He finished his career with an uninspiring .234/.301/.351 slash line and a 72 OPS+. Fuld had posted a .299 average in Chicago in 2009 but disappointingly never made much noise for the Rays. Fuld hung around for eight years before retiring in 2015.

Guyer is a name many Cubs fans would recognize. He was a thorn in the side during the 2016 World Series by slashing .300/.563/.400 in 16 plate appearances. Outside of that, Guyer turned into a borderline average baseball player and has not made much of an impact in the league.