Milwaukee Brewers Rumors: Crew Sends In Final Offer For Chris Archer

In the most recent Milwaukee Brewers rumors, the most coveted starting pitching target on the market is close to getting traded. And the Brewers are among the finalists.

According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Tampa Bay Rays starter Chris Archer is still receiving interest from six teams as the Rays have asked other clubs for their final offers for the righty.

To this point, Archer has a 4.31 ERA over 17 starts. But his xFIP of 3.62 indicates that he’s been better than his ERA makes him look.

The Rays have asked teams for their final offers. And the Brewers were reported to be among the teams that are still in talks with Tampa Bay. That means that GM David Stearns is to the point where he’s sending in his final offer for Archer.

Archer has been coveted on the trade market for some time, with his below market value contract and ace-level stuff, he would an absolute bargain. Acquiring him, however, would not be a bargain. The Rays have set a steep price and may end up keeping Archer if none of the interested teams are willing to meet it.

What Could The Final Offer For Archer Look Like?

We’ve speculated as to what a trade package for Chris Archer could look like before. While David Stearns has been loath to include Keston Hiura or Corbin Burnes in trade negotiations to this point, it may be necessary to include one of them to get a deal done.

With the amount of teams involved, and the high level of prospects those teams have, the Milwaukee Brewers will need to include one of their top two prospects if they’re going to win the sweepstakes.

A package with Keston Hiura and one of Luis Ortiz, Zack Brown, or Marcos Diplan would be a good start. Maybe Corey Ray has worked his way up into being a headlining prospect. The Brewers won’t be in need of outfielders for a couple years, and Ray’s future in Milwaukee is murky at best.

It’s going to take a package of at least four prospects to land Archer in Milwaukee. If it’s less than that, they’re all going to be top-level prospects. We should see a decision come down from the Rays sometime tomorrow.

The deadline is a 3:00 PM Central Time. David Stearns has until then to make additions to this team without the players having to go through waivers.