Results tagged ‘ Chris Archer ’
1/7 Archer key to Garza deal
The Cubs and Rays have talked since the Winter Meetings about a possible trade but the Cubs were reluctant to part with 22-year-old Chris Archer. Earlier this week, discussions broke off. But the Rays called again to say another team had entered the bidding. The Cubs decided to include Archer in the package. The Cubs will send five players to the Rays for Garza and two Minor Leaguers, and the deal will be complete once all undergo physicals.
Archer combined to go 15-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 28 games between Class A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee in 2010. Acquired from the Indians in December 2008 in the Mark DeRosa trade, he was 8-2 with a 1.80 ERA with the Smokies.
On Oct. 12, Archer struck out 10 and threw six scoreless innings for Team USA to help beat Cuba, 4-1, in the Pan American Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico. On Friday, he was attending the Rookie Career Development Program in Leesburg, Va., when he got news of the pending trade and left to get a physical exam.
– Carrie Muskat
1/7 Archer update
Chris Archer was attending a Rookie Career Development Program in Leesburg, VA, on Friday when he got the news about the pending trade. Archer and four other Cubs Minor Leaguers are headed to the Rays in exchange for pitcher Matt Garza and two Minor Leaguers, pending physicals. Archer is now scheduled for an exam and then hoped to return to the program.
– Carrie Muskat
1/7 Cubs to get Garza in 8-player deal
The Cubs apparently are close to acquiring Rays pitcher Matt Garza for five Minor League players, including 2010 Pitcher of the Year Chris Archer and 2010 Player of the Year Brandon Guyer. The deal will be finalized once the players undergo physicals.
Sources said Friday the framework is in place for the multi-player swap in which Chicago would get Garza in exchange for Archer, Guyer, shortstop Hak-Ju Lee, catcher Robinson Chirinos and outfielder Sam Fuld. The Cubs also would get two Minor League players from the Rays. According to the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald, one of the players is outfielder Fernando Perez, 27, who batted .234 in 107 big league
appearances. He hit .223 at Triple-A last year.
Team officials would not confirm the trade. Earlier this week, the Chicago Sun-Times reported the Cubs were close to acquiring Garza but both teams denied anything was imminent. The Daily Herald reported Friday that a deal was in the works and had the names.
Garza, 27, would join a rotation with Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, Tom Gorzelanny, and Carlos Silva. The Rays right-hander was 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA last season, and would definitely give the team a boost and help counter moves made this offseason by the Brewers, who added starters Zach Greinke and Shaun Marcum. The Cubs have been looking for an innings-eater type pitcher.
Garza is arbitration-eligible for the second time and will get a raise from his $3.35 million salary in 2010. Archer combined to go 15-3 with a 2.34 ERA in 28 games between Class A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. He was 8-2 with a 1.80 ERA with the Smokies, and also had a 10-strikeout game in the Pan-Am Qualifying Tournament this winter. Archer was acquired from the Indians in December 2008.
Guyer batted .344 with 39 doubles, six triples, 13 homers, 50 RBIs and a .398 on-base percentage. He was the Cubs’ fifth round pick in 2007.
Lee batted .282 in 122 games with Class A Peoria. Chirinos batted .318 with 15 homers and 64 RBIs at Tennessee and hit .364 with three homers and 10 RBIs with Triple-A Iowa. Fuld has a career .285 Minor League average and has hit .252 in 98 big league games with the Cubs.
– Carrie Muskat
12/29 Looking ahead
Will the Cubs be quiet on New Year’s Eve? Or will it be like last year when they signed outfielder Marlon Byrd to a three-year deal on Dec. 31, 2009? Remember New Year’s Eve 2008? On that date, the Cubs signed infielder Aaron Miles and traded Mark DeRosa to the Indians for Chris Archer, John Gaub and Jeff Stevens. Archer was named the organization’s Minor League pitcher of the year in 2010.
Heading into 2011, the Cubs’ only major piece of unfinished business is to sign arbitration eligible players Carlos Marmol, Tom Gorzelanny, Sean Marshall, Geovany Soto, and Koyie Hill. Jeff Baker also was arb eligible but he signed on Dec. 2 for $1.18 million. The arbitration filing period is Jan. 5-15, and figures are Jan. 18 if a resolution is not reached. Hearings take place in February.
Other dates to remember: The Cubs Convention will be Jan. 14-16 at the Hilton Chicago.
– Carrie Muskat
11/19 Roster moves
The Cubs selected the contracts of four players and added them to the 40-man roster: right-handed pitchers Chris Archer and Kyle Smit from Double-A Tennessee, outfielder Brandon Guyer from Tennessee; and right-handed pitcher Alberto Cabrera from Class A Daytona. Archer was Chicago’s 2010 Minor League Pitcher of the Year and Guyer was Chicago’s 2010 Minor League Player of the Year.
Additionally, infielder Micah Hoffpauir has cleared unconditional release waivers and the rights to his contract were sold to the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Pacific League. More on Hoffpauir in a few minutes.
– Carrie Muskat
10/12 Archer 10 Ks for Team USA
Cubs pitching prospect Chris Archer struck out 10 and threw six scoreless innings for Team USA to help beat Cuba, 4-1, Monday night in the Pan American Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico. Making his second start in the tournament, Archer gave up two hits and did not walk anyone. Archer was named the Cubs’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2010.
The U.S. team now is 9-0 in the tournment and has the No. 1 seed heading into Tuesday’s semifinal round, when it will play the Dominican Republic. Team USA beat the Dominican team, 8-3, last week.
The U.S. squad also has qualified for the 2011 Pan American Games, tentatively scheduled for Guadalajara, Mexico, next October, as well as the 2011 IBAF Baseball World Cup.
– Carrie Muskat
10/8 Team USA update
Unbeaten Team USA will face Nicaragua Friday in Puerto Rico to begin the second round of the Pan American Qualifying baseball tournament. On Wednesday, Team USA beat Panama, 10-2, to finish pool play with a 5-0 record. Brett Jackson, the Cubs’ No. 1 pick in 2009, did not play. Jackson, who was batting .667, came out of Monday’s game with a sore heel as a precautionary measure.
– Carrie Muskat
10/6 Team USA update
Chris Archer outdueled former Cy Young winner Bartolo Colon to help Team USA beat the Dominican Republic, 8-3, Tuesday night in the Pan American qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico. The U.S. squad, which is 4-0, faces Panama on Wednesday in the final preliminary game before the second round.
Archer, named the Cubs’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year, gave up three runs on four hits and struck out five over four innings. He did give up a home run to Tony Batista in the fourth. He did not get a decision. Colon, who won the American League Cy Young award in 2005, served up six earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits and one walk.
Team USA scored five runs in the third. Cubs outfield prospect Brett Jackson, the team’s No. 1 Draft pick in 2009, did not play. He came out of Monday’s game as a precautionary measure because of a sore heel.
– Carrie Muskat
9/24 Archer throws at Wrigley
Chris Archer, the Cubs’ Minor League pitcher of the year, had a chance to get a bullpen session in at Wrigley Field on Friday. Archer and outfielder Brandon Guyer, named the organization’s player of the year, were to be honored Saturday prior to the Cubs’ game against the Cardinals.
Archer, 21, combined to go 15-3 with a 2.34 ERA (37 earned runs in 142 1/3 innings) in 28 games between Class A Daytona and Tennessee. He struck out 149 in 142 1/3 innings and walked 65. He credited Minor League pitching coordinator Mark Riggins with helping him get on track.
“Some things fell in place and I started to feel a lot more comfortable,” said Archer, who improved command of his fastball. “Everybody has told me once you start throwing strikes, you’re going to move fast and be successful and that’s what’s happening.”
Originally selected by the Indians in the fifth round of the 2006 Draft, Archer was acquired along with pitchers Jeff Stevens and John Gaub in the December 2006 trade for infielder Mark DeRosa. He knows how popular DeRosa was in Chicago.
“I let it motivate me because I wanted to prove to the fans and show they made a good decision,” he said.
Archer will pitch for the U.S. team in the Pan American Qualifying Team tournament in Puerto Rico, which begins next week.
– Carrie Muskat
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