Archer to miss season after surgery

*Photo from Bleacher Report*

   Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Chris Archer underwent thoracic outlet surgery on Tuesday, according to the team. This means that however long the 2020 season is, Archer will miss it. Archer had the surgery in St.Louis, MO, performed by Doctor Robert Thompson. 

   Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that Archer had discomfort in the neck and shoulder area on his right side in March, right before MLB suspended operations. Archer was put on a throwing program when he went home but his symptoms continued to linger. Tomczyk said that "What made it most challenging for Chris, he didn't feel the symptoms immediately after throwing," Tomczyk said. "It was hours afterward. It was the next day."

   Pirates GM Ben Cherington said that "There will be other information at the time that we don't have now, it's tough news for us; it's even tougher news for him that he's not going to be able to go out and pitch." 

   Archer will need approximately 6 to 8 months of rehab following the surgery. Archer's surgery is a big blow to a Pirates rotation that was already without ace Jameson Taillon, who will miss all of 2020 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Archer's contract has an $11 million option for 2021, and if he follows the timeline from Tomczyk, he won't be fully healthy by the time the Pirates have to decide whether or not to exercise the option. 

   Archer has largely been a disappointment since the Pirates aggressively traded for him in a deal that sent top players Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow to Tampa Bay. Archer has a 6-12 record with a 4.92 ERA in 33 starts with the Pirates. The deal looks bad for the Pirates, as Archer has been inconsistent, while Meadows and Glasnow became all stars in Tampa Bay. Archer's 5.19 ERA last year was a career high, and he seems to be in a decline. 

   Without Archer and Taillon in the rotation for 2020, the Pirates rotation has Trevor Williams, Mitch Keller, and Joe Musgrove entrenched as starters, with Derek Holland likely becoming a starter now that Archer is out for the season.