ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays and right-hander Chris Archer have agreed on a six-year contract that will run through 2019 and includes club options for 2020 and 2021, according to multiple reports Wednesday.
The team has not commented on or confirmed the reports, but it has scheduled a news conference to be held at Tropicana Field at noon ET.
The deal is said to guarantee Archer about $25 million. It begins with this season and includes club options for 2020 and 2021.
Archer, 25, came to the Rays prior to the 2011 season in a deal that sent right-hander Matt Garza to the Cubs. That deal also included outfielders Brandon Guyer and Sam Fuld, shortstop Hak-Ju Lee and catcher Robinson Chirinos.
 
Chris Archer agrees to six-year, $25M deal with Rays
 
The right-hander first pitched with the Rays in 2012, going 1-3 with a 4.60 ERA in six appearances, four of which were starts. He saw his first extended Major League action in 2013, when he went 9-7 with a 3.22 ERA in 23 starts.
Despite not joining the Rays from Triple-A Durham until June 1, when the team played its 55th game, Archer led American League rookies who pitched at least 100 innings in ERA, opponents' batting average (.226), complete games (two), shutouts (two) and WHIP (1.13).
He won both the AL Pitcher of the Month and AL Rookie of the Month Awards in July after going 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA in five starts that month. He finished third in the voting for AL Rookie of the Year, the award that was claimed by teammate Wil Myers.
The Indians selected Archer in the fifth round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Clayton High School in Clayton, N.C., and subsequently traded him in 2008 to the Cubs, along with two other players, in a deal for infielder Mark DeRosa.
Bill Chastain / MLB.com
 

Leave a Reply