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For weeks, reports have indicated that the Tampa Bay Rays weren't interested in dealing their ace -- well, at least he was considered their ace to begin the season -- Chris Archer. Then, on Thursday afternoon, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark dropped this fire emoji on the internet world:

It isn't altogether shocking that we'd hear Archer's name at some point in these last two weeks of July. I mentioned him as part of the top storylines to watch this trade season. So let's dig in.

Background

An awful lot of things line up here. First off, the Dodgers are strong contenders and the Rays are one of the worst teams in baseball. Secondly, Dodgers president Andrew Friedman worked for years with the Rays and current general manager Matt Silverman. The two are said to be close friends. So surely they could have productive discussions about a trade (and, no, this doesn't mean Silverman would give a discount for his friend -- that's ridiculous).

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Silverman and Friedman, back in their Rays days. USATSI

The Dodgers are contenders, as noted, but also are in a bit of a bind concerning starting pitchers. Most notably, All-World lefty Clayton Kershaw is facing the possibility of back surgery. Brett Anderson is hoping to return in mid-August from back surgery, but he's long been injury-prone. Alex Wood is likely out for the season. Hyun-jin Ryu just suffered another injury.

The current rotation -- Kenta Maeda, Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy, Bud Norris and Julio Urias -- is loaded with question marks as well.

Suffice it to say, the Dodgers seem likely to go after starting pitching in front of the Aug. 1 trade deadline. Maybe even a front-line guy, if they can find one.

Would Archer qualify? It probably depends on your point of view. He was an All-Star and finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting last season. This year, though, he's 5-13 with a 4.60 ERA (89 ERA+), 1.40 WHIP and an AL-most 51 walks in 123 1/3 innings. He does lead the AL with 147 strikeouts. The league switch could help, especially since three of the five NL West parks traditionally favor pitchers (San Diego's Petco Park has actually slightly favored hitters so far this season, though).

As for Archer's contract? He's on an extremely club-friendly deal for a while. His six-year, $25.5 million contract runs through 2019, and there are club options for 2020 ($9 million) and 2021 ($11 million).

We also know the Dodgers have what is considered a rich farm system, so they could deal a big prospect package back to the Rays, which is what would be required to move Archer.

Buy or Sell?

Can I hold? No? OK, I'll sell, but it's a reluctant sell.

I know the report said 70 percent chance, but that came from an executive that works for another team. Seems like it's a strong gut feeling more than true knowledge of the situation.

I know there are a lot of reasons this makes sense, but the Rays haven't given any indication they want to move Archer. If they did, would the timing be best right now? Not only is he having a bad year, but he had a 4.38 ERA in his last 18 starts last season. From the Dodgers side, it's been a long time since he was consistently dominant to the point that I'd worry about coughing up a gigantic prospect package for him.

Speaking of which, we know that Friedman and company last year declined to give either Corey Seager or Julio Urias for Cole Hamels. Joc Pederson was long untouchable, regardless of the target.

So now the philosophy is going to change for Archer?

It might, as every situation is unique and there would be reasons to make this move. It's just giving me pause here. My best guess is Silverman will want more than Friedman is willing to give and they'll end up at an impasse, if they are even seriously discussing a deal.

Again, I'll sell the chances of Archer going to the Dodgers before the deadline -- especially if I'm selling at 70 percent.