Making official what was assumed, Rays manager Kevin Cash announced that right-hander Chris Archer will start Opening Day for the second straight season.
Archer was an All-Star for the first time last season, throwing 212 innings with a 3.23 ERA and 252/66 K/BB ratio. Through age 26 his career ERA is 3.33 and he’s whiffed 562 batters in 565 innings.
Not bad for a pitcher who was traded from the Indians to the Cubs for Mark DeRosa and from the Cubs to the Rays for Matt Garza. And thanks to a long-term contract signed in April of 2014 he’s under the Rays’ control through 2021, when he’ll be 32 years old.
