Chris Archer did not pitch at all last season due to offseason surgery in June. It was a major blow to Archer’s potential free-agent stock as he hit the open market for the first time in his career after his contract option was not picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Archer finished his Pirates career with a 4.92 ERA in 33 starts over two seasons, which was disappointing after the load that Pittsburgh gave up to get him. In 2018 the Pirates traded Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, and prospect Shane Baz to acquire Archer, which has led to the trade being known as one of the worst trades in the MLB recently.