Seattle Mariners closer – An outside the box option
Conversion material
In my last article, I mentioned: “reclamation project Chris Archer”? Well, the time has come to an end that tease. Archer is a free agent after the Pirates decided to decline his $11million club option. This probably has something to do with the fact that Archer had season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in June.
It’s hard to believe Pittsburgh has given up on him after they sent Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows to the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire Archer in the first place (ouch!). There have been rumors about the M’s expressing interest. Personally, I don’t want him in the starting rotation. He’d be a better fit pitching out of the Mariners bullpen. If he wants to stay in the majors, it’s time for him to become a reliever.
Archer’s total innings have decreased since his 2015 All-Star year. That was also the last year his ERA (3.23) was below 4.00. Since then, only twice has he thrown over 200 innings. In 2019, his ERA ballooned to a grotesque 5.19. So, why would the M’s want a starting pitcher who is clearly on the decline?
Well, the Mariners don’t need a mid-back end starting pitcher. They have plenty, and there is more to come. What the M’s desperately need is a dominant closer. While Archer has never been a closer, he may want to strongly consider a bullpen move if he wants to continue to be a Major League pitcher. Archer would do better, throwing fewer pitches each outing.
Looking at advanced metrics, FIP and WHIP paints a different picture of him since 2015. Over those last four years, he has a 3.65 FIP (3.5 is great and 3.8 is above average) and 1.26 WHIP (1.25 is above average, and 1.32 is average).
Within those same four years, Archer has an amazing 10.6 K’s per 9 innings. This puts him up in some top-notch company. Major league clubs look for this kind of production from their closers. My proposition is the M’s sign Archer to be their 2021 closer.