Report: Blue Jays wants Archer-like package for Stroman

The Toronto Blue Jays may be making their ace available, but suitors will still have to pay up.

Toronto has placed a lofty price tag on Marcus Stroman and is seeking a haul similar to what the Tampa Bay Rays got for Chris Archer at last year's trade deadline, according to David O'Brien of The Athletic.

The Rays shipped Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 31, 2018, in exchange for outfielder Austin Meadows, right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow, and a player to be named later, who ended up being pitching prospect Shane Baz. Baz is now the eighth-ranked prospect in Tampa's system, according to MLB Pipeline.

Both Meadows and Glasnow have become integral pieces for the Rays; Meadows has posted an impressive .292/.364/.525 slash line with 15 home runs and nine stolen bases over 79 games so far this season. Glasnow, currently sidelined with a forearm injury, owns a sterling 1.86 ERA and 2.31 FIP over eight starts this year.

The report comes one day after Stroman fired seven shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers with scouts from no fewer than eight teams in attendance. The Rays, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Red Sox were among the teams with representatives at Comerica Park on Friday. Some may have been watching Tigers players, though, with Detroit also expected to be a deadline seller.

Stroman, 28, has one year of arbitration remaining beyond this season. He's authored a 3.06 ERA and 3.61 FIP over 20 starts this season, earning his first All-Star appearance in the process. The right-hander owns a 3.78 ERA and 3.62 FIP over 134 career games.

At the time of his trade to the Pirates, Archer, then 29, was coming off his second All-Star appearance and owned a 3.69 ERA and 3.48 FIP over 179 career games. He was also under contract for three more seasons and owed a maximum of $28 million from 2019-21.