Chris Archer, Twins checked each other out before making deal

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Chris Archer took note when the Twins made big moves in this breakneck offseason.

When the lockout ended, the Twins traded away such big names as catcher Mitch Garver and third baseman Josh Donaldson. And they brought in new stars like pitcher Sonny Gray from Cincinnati and top free agent Carlos Correa, a World Series-winning shortstop with the Astros.

"The offseason moves and how ownership, front office has been dedicated to putting high-quality teams on the field," Archer said Tuesday from the Twins' clubhouse. "… They made some really nice additions this offseason all around, and yeah, I definitely notice it. We all notice it."

That was one of the factors that persuaded the righthander to come to Minnesota on a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $3.5 million with a potential $6 million of bonuses. There is also a mutual option for the 2023 season worth $10 million or a $750,000 buyout.

The 33-year-old said he loved playing in Minneapolis through his career with Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh. Plus, there are a few familiar faces — fellow starter Joe Ryan was in the Rays' minor league system for three years before coming to the Twins in a trade last season, and manager Rocco Baldelli coached in Tampa from 2015 to '18.

Archer also called Jake Odorizzi, a former Rays teammate who played for the Twins 2018-20, for a scouting report.

"Jake Odorizzi had nothing but good things to say about this place. There was not one single complaint from Jake," Archer said. "He gushed about Minnesota's organization. So that went a long way, as well."

"His agent shared a lot of the data with us, so his TrackMan data, his video. We got to analyze it. So over the last couple of weeks, we had stayed in touch," said Derek Falvey, Twins president of baseball operations.

"Obviously, we had been talking about a lot of other things, trade market and other free agent markets, but we stayed in connection with Chris. As we got a little further along and learned where he was at in his progression, really out to about 60 pitches, got tracking of all those pitches. It just helped us understand where he was coming into camp right now, and that was really helpful."

Archer said he spent most of the offseason training in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area before heading to Arizona for the past two weeks to work with some other unsigned free agents. He said he plans to make a spring game start in the next few days and should be able to throw at least 50 pitches in three innings. With this being the Twins' likely final personnel addition, per Falvey, Archer should slot into the five-man rotation alongside Gray, Ryan, Bailey Ober and Dylan Bundy.

An All Star in 2015 and 2017, Archer hasn't secured an ERA below 4.00 since 2015. Injuries have marred his recent seasons, and he had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome that took him out for the 2020 pandemic season. And when he returned to the Rays in 2021 after playing part of 2018 and 2019 in Pittsburgh, he managed just six games because of a forearm injury and hip soreness, the latter of which stemmed from a previous labrum surgery.

Archer said his neck hasn't caused any issues since he had the surgery, and the hip has similarly quieted after working with a new physical therapist.

"If you look at his specific injuries, thoracic outlet is something that players have had before. It typically takes a good year to really start to come back from that and feel good about that," Falvey said. "… He had the hip situation that he dealt with last year as well, so we know he's had that over the last couple of years. But we feel like based on our review of his medicals now, where he's at throwing, he's about as healthy as he's been in the last two to three years. So that gives us some confidence."

Said Baldelli: "He's ready to pitch, despite coming into camp later than anyone else right now," Baldelli said. "He's going to be ready to go. And I don't normally say that with a guy joining at this point in the spring."

Archer is looking forward to immersing himself in the Twin Cities beyond just Target Field.