CHICAGO -- With two weeks left in the season, the Pirates have decided to shut down rehabbing right-hander Chris Archer rather than rushing him back to the mound. We had a game plan if everything went well, and it didnt go perfectly. So theres no point in trying to force

CHICAGO -- With two weeks left in the season, the Pirates have decided to shut down rehabbing right-hander Chris Archer rather than rushing him back to the mound.

We had a game plan if everything went well, and it didnt go perfectly. So theres no point in trying to force anything to happen, Archer said Sunday at Wrigley Field. Theres still a little bit of soreness in there. As opposed to continuing to throw through it, might as well just continue to rest it.

Archer, who has been out since Aug. 20 due to right shoulder inflammation, has continued to work out with the team and play catch on flat ground. He hasnt suffered a new injury, and he shouldnt need any more treatment than initially expected, but the Pirates simply ran out of time to get him built back up to start one of their final 12 games.

Hes worked hard, hasnt progressed as he had hoped or we had hoped. Were just running out of days, general manager Neal Huntington said on Sunday. Lets turn our attention to offseason prep, let him have a great baseball offseason, which he hasnt had as a Pirate.

Archer underwent a procedure to repair a bilateral hernia last November and didnt even start his rehabilitation work until December. Archer hasnt used the operation as an excuse, but the Pirates believe his interrupted offseason -- and that of Joe Musgrove, who also had abdominal surgery last winter -- may have affected him on the mound this season.

Now, Archer will have 4-6 weeks to rest and rid himself of the soreness in his shoulder before beginning a normal offseason routine.

In my time, Ive come to recognize that that is a huge factor in a players season the next year, Huntington said. Were excited for Chris and Joe to have a baseball offseason, come in next year and be the pitchers we expect and need them to be.

Archer, acquired from the Rays last summer for Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and pitching prospect Shane Baz, will finish his first full season with the Pirates with a 3-9 record, a 5.19 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 119 2/3 innings over 23 starts. His contract includes a $9 million club option for next season that the Pirates seemingly intend to exercise.

The 30-year-old right-hander was hoping to put together a strong finish to this year, and he was encouraged by some of the work he did after a rough start. In his final 11 outings, Archer struck out 74 batters and walked only 22 in 55 innings while holding opponents to a .234/.314/.402 slash line.

It stinks because it puts our team in a tough position, and I was feeling a lot better the second half of the season, Archer said. The smart play going forward is just to come back fully healthy, have a normal offseason and continue to fine-tune the things that I found in the second half and maybe even find ways to get better.

Trainers room

The Pirates havent shut down any of their other injured players, a list that most notably includes first baseman Josh Bell (left groin discomfort), center fielder Starling Marte (sprained left wrist) and catcher Jacob Stallings (back tightness). Only Marte was available off the bench for Sundays series finale vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field, and he was limited to pinch-running duty.

Theres always value in players finishing healthy if the calendar allows them to, Huntington said. In Joshs case, weve still got some inflammation in there and hes working through that, and well know more in the coming days. In Starlings case, hes continued to try to work through [it]; theres just some inflammation in that wrist thats still hindering his ability to swing the bat.

The Pirates will reassess Bell and Marte on Tuesday, Huntington said, as Mondays off-day gives them additional time to rest and recover.

If theres risk for further damage, then the shutdown becomes easy, Huntington said. If its just an inflammation thing that theyre battling through, then the ideal situation becomes that they work themselves back when theyre ready to go.

Right fielder Gregory Polanco, who was previously shut down due to lingering left shoulder inflammation, is receiving a series of platelet-rich plasma injections with the hope of having a relatively healthy, normal offseason after another injury-plagued season.

The PRP sequencing is having the effects that we hoped it would have, Huntington said. As we sit here today, very positive path.

Worth noting

Huntington said the Pirates need to learn from the clubhouse fight that took place Monday between closer Felipe Vazquez and reliever Kyle Crick, which resulted in Crick sustaining a season-ending hand injury and Vazquez needing stitches on his nose. But the Pirates dont feel obligated to deal away either Crick or Vazquez, Huntington added.

Its not fine. Its not good, Huntington said. We dont have to trade either one. Talking with veteran baseball guys, fights happen in clubhouses every year. This one became very public because of the injuries, and its not OK. Were not just passing it off as, Well, it happens and boys will be boys. Thats not the way we feel at all. At the same time, there are times when things do escalate, they become physical and both players are able to move on and coexist.

As we sit here today, if theres an opportunity to improve the club, if theres an opportunity to take some of our right-handed depth to add to our left-handed depth, if theres an opportunity to get an elite return, thats a decision we make regardless of what happened between those two. Its an unfortunate situation. Its not acceptable. Its not OK. Well learn from it and move on.

Adam Berry has covered the Pirates for MLB.com since 2015. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook and read his blog.

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Archer (right shoulder) done for season - MLB.com