Archer rounds out the rotation

(New Twin Chris Archer has an exchange of ideas with former Twin Eddie Rosario: https://www.mlb.com/video/rays-twins-benches-clear-c2273059183) 
 

The Twins finally got their man! The Twins have been tied to former Ray and Pirate Chris Archer since 2018, when Archer as coming off of a couple of All Star appearances, and was a sought after target for all of Major League Baseball. The Rays wanted Max Kepler as part of a trade, and eventually dealt him to the Pirates for Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and Shane Baz, all of whom are now important elements of the Rays roster. Now that the Twins have signed Archer for a mere $3.5m, it seems like Minnesota got a bargain!

Of course, Archer is coming off of a couple of years fraught with injury. He played only one season with the Pirates before sitting out in 2020 with thoracic outlet syndrome. His 2021 return to Tampa was bogged down thanks to forearm tightness that severely shortened his season. Archer is now 33, and clearly damaged goods. 

Fortunately for all parties, each of these injuries are not career enders, and assuming what, exactly "forearm tightness" entails, Archer could be a prime candidate to bounce back. Surely, this is behind the rationale of signing Archer as opposed to Johnny Cueto, the other big named veteran still on the market. Cueto has less tread on his tires at this point, and a longer recent resume suggests that there isn't much more to expect out of him than the nearly 5.00 ERA he has put together in each of the last 3 years. There is a potential to be better from Archer.

Earlier today, Derek Falvey suggested that the Twins would be done making significant changes to the roster, owing to the proximity of opening day. 

While Derek Falvey said they would stay open-minded to the possibility of a trade for a starting pitcher, it sounds as if a trade is unlikely.

Falvey on the rotation: "It’s just at this late stage as we approach Opening Day, it feels like the group is probably in this room."

— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) March 29, 2022

This could, of course, be subterfuge, and the Twins might yet be interested in making a trade for one of the big two starters out of Oakland, but it might not be, either.

The Twins front office was hired on the promise they would develop a strong pipeline of pitching. We are all left with a lot of question marks, thanks to two very unusual seasons, consecutively, thanks to a season off and one marred by an excess of injuries. The organization has a better read on the pitching development than game logs or scouting reports, primarily because neither really exist for Twins prospects in the past couple of seasons.

On the surface, the Twins look like they need another pitcher to fill out the rotation confidently, This front office has shown an ability to avoid getting taken advantage of on the trade market, and are certainly avoiding paying a premium for another pitcher right now. They also are likely to put added value on the prospects in the system, which are probably closer to ready than anyone else knows for sure. 

It sure seems like Archer will be the last notable name added to the starting pitching pool. The Twins will hope to get the most out of him while they can, confident that they have young arms to backstop Archer should he falter, and the rest of the rotation. Looking at the high minors set of pitchers the Twins have, it seems unlikely that the Twins will feel compelled to make a trade for another starter unless things start going wrong with a lot of different players. Something might come along, too good to pass up, but right now, it feels like we should take Falvey at his word. Chris Archer will complete the Twins' starting rotation.