The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics made a rare intra-division trade on Saturday involving two big names.
The Athletics acquired a package headlined by shortstop Elvis Andrus from Texas, solving the team’s shortstop issue. In return, the Rangers got slugger Khris Davis, as well as a pair of prospects.
Full trade, per sources: SS Elvis Andrus, C Aramís García and cash to Athletics. DH Khris Davis, C Jonah Heim and RHP Dane Acker to Rangers. First on Garcia: @Evan_P_Grant.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 6, 2021
Andrus is arguably the biggest name in the deal. The 32-year-old veteran shortstop struggled in 2020, but hit .275 with 12 home runs over his last full season in 2019.
Davis, however, might make the biggest impact. The 33-year-old had three consecutive 40-homer seasons from 2016 through 2018, and will be moving from a big park in Oakland to what will be a more hitter-friendly one in Texas.
The A’s needed a shortstop to replace Marcus Semien, so this is a deal that makes sense for them. That said, this ad from a couple years ago didn’t age well in retrospect.
