Rays' Archer confident he won't be traded

Though the Tampa Bay Rays effectively started rebuilding last month when they traded franchise cornerstone Evan Longoria to San Francisco, the club looks increasingly inclined to keep Chris Archer around, at least for now.

Having spoken of late with general manager Erik Neander, the veteran right-hander - whose name has surfaced consistently in trade talks in recent weeks - said Wednesday he's confident he won't be dealt this offseason.

"I've talked to Erik a lot and he's made me feel pretty good about being with the Rays in 2018," Archer told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Even before the Longoria trade, Archer was popping up in trade rumors, with reports linking the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals to the two-time All-Star early this offseason. Over the past few weeks, the rumors intensified, but it now appears he may be factoring into the Rays' long-term plans.

Archer remains under contract for at least the next two seasons, after all, earning just north of $14 million over that span, and the 29-year-old has a $9-million team option for 2020 along with an $11-million team option for the following season.

Archer, who has spent his entire six-year career with Tampa Bay, has been one of the game's top starters in recent years, too, though the results haven't quite aligned over the past couple seasons with his impressive peripheral numbers. Last year, for instance, despite setting new full-season career bests in strikeout rate (29.2 percent) and walk rate (7.0 percent), while also cutting down his home run rate (1.21 per nine) from 2016, he posted a 4.07 ERA - belying his 3.40 fielding independent pitching - over 201 innings.