After trading Souza, the Rays need to embrace the tank and deal Archer

It's the end of an era in Tampa Bay.

But then again, when hasn't it been? It feels like we say that every single winter now.

Tuesday's surprising three-way trade that sent Steven Souza Jr. from the Rays to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a haul of - yup, you guessed it - prospects was the latest in a long string of offseason moves that are only serving to push them closer to the AL East basement. It rids the Rays of one of their last remaining recognizable names - Chris Archer's about all they have at this point - and continues their 20-year tradition of keeping the budget as thin as a Monday night crowd at Tropicana Field.

Not that the Rays are letting on, of course.

"This was something that would be categorized much more as a baseball deal," general manager Erik Neander told reporters shortly after the trade was announced. Neander added that he thinks it's "extremely unlikely" Rays fans will see any more tank-style moves, and said they now want "to add a little bit."

Souza for prospects being "a baseball deal" is a little difficult to believe when we're talking about the Rays, a team that can't draw flies to its outdated and out-of-the-way domed stadium (and still doesn't have funding in place to build a new one), and was reportedly once again mandated to slash payroll this winter.

Trading franchise cornerstone Evan Longoria, young starter Jake Odorizzi, and DFA'ing All-Star Corey Dickerson are not moves that a franchise trying to compete would make. Souza may be an arbitration guy, but his $3.55-million salary is still somewhat large for them, and he'd only get richer with another 30-homer season in 2018.

Related: Giants' Longoria feels sorry for Rays fans after recent moves

So as much as Rays fans probably don't want to hear it given the state of the franchise, the Souza deal should really be the beginning of a full tear-down. A Dickerson transaction is coming given his status in DFA limbo, and the contracts of catcher/DH Wilson Ramos ($10.5 million) and veteran outfielder Denard Span ($11 million that was only taken on as part of the Longoria trade) probably shouldn't be buying property in St. Petersburg either.

But why stop there? Tanking may be a controversial topic these days given the tense labor relations between MLB and its players, but after dealing Souza, it's time for the Rays to fully embrace it. And to do that, they'll have to say goodbye to the ace.

Chris Archer is now officially the Rays' face and the last remaining recognizable name. It's time for him to go. As long as the Rays are trending in this direction, they need to embrace the full tank and deal him before Opening Day.

This is the perfect time for the Rays to stage a bidding war for Archer and receive as many prospects for him as possible. It's not like they're going to be contending this season anyway - not when they're staring down 19 games against each of the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and even the Toronto Blue Jays. He'd be wasted on this team as currently constructed.

Dealing Archer would surely hurt local interest, but few butts are being planted in the Trop's seats as it is. If fans in Tampa are going to come out, it will only be once that new stadium - something that seems to be more of a myth than the Loch Ness Monster himself - gets built. And by the time that happens, Archer will have already skipped town for a fat contract elsewhere, one he would have never received from these Rays anyway.

So while the Rays are going ahead with a collective move toward tanking - and that's what it is, no matter what they're saying publicly - they need to fully embrace it and blow it up real good. The process has already started; it finishes with trading Archer. The return on him will make for the betterment of the franchise, as the next era of surprising small-market success in the "Ray Tank" begins anew.

Because if there's one franchise in professional sports that can withstand the horrors of intentional tanking, surely it's the already poor Tampa Bay Rays, who've been doing this for their two-decade history.

Happy 20th anniversary, Rays. Your gift is a tank. We suggest you use it.