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Believe it or not, the Cardinals need Chris Archer in their lives

While he isn't the perennial Cy Young candidate that Cardinals fans wanted in Max Scherzer and David Price, Archer is a two-time All Star with flavors that the innings-deprived Cardinals badly need this year and next.
Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY SPORTS

Chris Archer and the St. Louis Cardinals are like a pair of lost souls circling each other at a dance. The only thing is the dance has been going on for over a year now. Let me tell you why they need each other.

While the Cardinals have pulled a couple healthy wins over the Chicago Cubs this weekend, there are still needs that lurk around the corner in August. Needs that Archer could help fill rather quick. Instead of sleeping on a pair of wins, the Cardinals need to prepare for the future.

The Tampa Bay Rays starter is becoming a hot commodity, and the American League East non-contender is pushing hard to move him before Tuesday's trade deadline.

At first glance, a Cardinals fan may not see all the virtues that Archer has to offer. He hasn't won a Cy Young award, nor has he finished a season in his seven year career with an ERA under 3.00. He doesn't have the sizzle of a Cole Hamels, someone who has stats that precede his arrival, like a red carpet laying itself out.

With Archer, you have to take an old school route to see all the true premise behind his appeal. Let me explain it to you like a teacher would explain a simple mathematical equation to a class of five year olds. Archer eats innings and the Cardinals need that in their lives. How many seven inning starts have you seen in Cardinal Nation lately?

Right now, here is what the Cardinals are cooking with in the rotation. Carlos Martinez, who has been injured twice this season and has one 200 inning season under his belt; Miles Mikolas, who is a walking and talking marvel of a find for John Mozeliak, yet is still gunning for his first 200 inning season. Luke Weaver, who has been up and down all year. Jack Flaherty is an impressive rookie, but he isn't giving you more than six innings these days.

John Gant is a serviceable starter who may be best used out of the bullpen. Austin Gomber and Daniel Poncedeleon had impressive debuts, but can't be leaned on too much right now as they sit out of the pen. Dakota Hudson is also coming out of the pen.

There are a lot of good toys to look at, but they are very breakable and not dependable for a high innings count.

Archer has recorded three straight 200-inning seasons. The man is a 33 start-plus machine, and has the history to back it up. The 96 innings this season are a result of a left abdominal strain earlier this season that hindered his progress, but 2018 serves as more of an outlier than a huge concern moving forward.

Strikeouts are still sexy, right? Archer has struck out 200 in three straight seasons as well, with 249 last year and 252 in 2015. The man can throw the ball past a hitter and make the opposition miss more than some of the guys who have taken the ball for the Cardinals this year. He is what you hope Weaver and Flaherty turn out to be when they are older.

Archer is a certainty and not a hope. There's a value to having that in your rotation. If the Cardinals don't want to run with a full-on rebuild, they need a guy like Archer to provide innings that are insured. It's like picking a quality insurance agent instead of hoping you don't get into an accident on the road.

How does he do it? A wipe-out 91 mph slider sure does help.

He isn't without faults and warning signs. The first thing that one will notice is his age. Archer turns 30 in September, so there is some mileage on the arm with a reading of a 1,063 innings. However, if you want experience, age usually comes with it.

Archer is also known to be a wildling on the mound, tossing 15 wild pitches in 2017 and three straight seasons of double-digit numbers that didn't make it into the catcher's mitt. However, the career WHIP of 1.23 suggests he doesn't allow too many baserunners. If you throw 33 starts and 200 innings annually, a 1.2 average of hits and walks per inning is tolerable. Show me a guy who strikes out three guys for every walk, and I'm happy.

Here's the thing. A change of scenery will help Archer quite a bit. Taking him out of the hitter-friendly AL East will lower the ERA and mound anxiety by at least a run. When you pull a kid out of Aaron Judge's zip code, good things are in his future. Archer will thrive in the pitcher friendly confines of Busch Stadium. There's little doubt of that.

What's the price? The Rays want a #1 type starter, and since I doubt they ask for the injured Alex Reyes or even Martinez, they may want Flaherty. However, I think the Cardinals can sweeten the pot by giving the Rays a MLB ready catching prospect in Carson Kelly or a righthanded outfielder masher in Tyler O'Neill along with a Gomber or Hudson. Tampa Bay has seen a taste of what Gomber can do on a mound last week in Cincinnati. If you add in a piece like Kelly or O'Neill, the Rays may let up on what pitching prospect they want.

There are some who believe the two sides have what it takes it make a deal happen. The benefit would be mutual. The Cardinals get a 200 inning beast who can strike guys out and slide into the rotation under Martinez and Miles Mikolas, or ascend higher. The Rays get a top pitching prospect along with a ready to go catcher and outfielder.

Oh, and don't forget Archer is under team control through 2021 with options that would bring the total cost to just over $27 million. That's less than $10 million per season average for a guy giving you big innings and lots of strikeouts with the chance to be even better without Fenway Park and Camden Yards staring him down on the schedule.

While he isn't the perennial Cy Young candidate that Cardinals fans wanted in Max Scherzer and David Price, Archer is a two-time All Star with flavors that the innings-deprived Cardinals badly need this year and next. He isn't near the end of the line or a rental, and he could do wonders for the clubhouse as well.

Imagine what Mike Maddux could do with his skill set. Tell me that doesn't sound exciting.

The Cardinals need a bat or two, but they also need assured innings. Chris Archer can provide that.

Thanks for reading,

-DLB

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