Pirates' Chris Archer trade misstep exposed again as former top pick cashes in

This history lesson needs no introduction. Every Pittsburgh Pirates fan remembers the ill-fated Chris Archer trade.

Archer, of course, flamed out spectacularly in Pittsburgh. After making two trips to the Midsummer Classic as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, the right-hander lasted all of 172 innings with the Pirates, accruing a 4.92 ERA along the way.

Now, one of the three pieces the Pirates forked over in that deal is getting a long-term contract extension — Shane Baz has re-signed with the Baltimore Orioles for five years.

The Rays dealt Baz to the Orioles for four prospect in the offseason, further growing what is devolving into one of the worst trade trees (from the Pirates' perspective) of all time. This extension only further solidifies that fact.

Shane Baz extension is ultimte dagger in Pirates' heart eight years after making Chris Archer trade

Baz has never quite lived up to his top prospect billing, though most of that is due to injuries. Between 2021-24, he threw a combined total of 119 2/3 innings, missing all the entire 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Still, he's been quite good when healthy, with a career 4.29 ERA and 4.24 FIP in the majors. Still only 26 years old, the right-hander should be a weapon for the Orioles for the foreseeable future after handling 31 starts worth of work last season.

Of course, Baz was just one-third of the Rays' return for Archer. The pain doesn't stop with him.

Tyler Glasnow was the biggest star of the trade. He became the (oft-injured) ace of a great Rays pitching staff before getting shipped off to the Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he's won back-to-back World Series titles (though he missed the first title run in 2024). In return, Tampa Bay got top prospects Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca, while Glasnow signed a five-year, $136.5 million extension with the back-to-back World Series champions.

Austin Meadows had the weakest post-Pirates career, and even he was plenty productive. He earned an immediate All-Star appearance with the Rays in 2019, finishing top-20 in AL MVP voting twice in a three-year span. He's been out of pro baseball since 2023, but he was an effective outfielder for a team that made the World Series in 2020.

If there is a silver lining to all of this, it's that all the losing the Pirates went through without Glasnow, Baz, and Meadows on the roster has brought them to now, when they field a dominant rotation headlined by Paul Sknes and Bubba Chandler. As far as consolation prizes go, that's not half bad.