At the trade deadline, the Pittsburgh Pirates tore a page out of the 2017 Royals book and went after what they thought was the final piece of the puzzle to push them into the playoffs. Neal Huntington and company sent Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, and Shane Baz—all very serious pieces of what could have been the Pirates’ future—for Chris Archer. Archer is under control through the 2021 season and at reasonable prices through the entire run of his contract with two club options at the back end, so the deal wasn’t only for this year, but since they made the move, they have lost five more games than they’ve won, effectively playing themselves out of the playoff picture within two weeks of making the move.
Pittsburgh Pirates series preview: Wait, who are the Royals playing?
