The Tampa Bay Rays and the Pittsburgh Pirates came to an agreement on July 31, 2018, on a deal that sent Chris Archer to the Bucs and brought three players back to Tampa.
The Pirates were only 3.5 games back of a postseason spot at the time of the deal. General Manager Neal Huntington had his sights set on Archer as the prize of the trade deadline.
In order to receive Archer’s services, the Pirates had to part with a couple of players heralded among the best prospects in their system at various points, Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow.