Rangers land backstop Heim in veteran swap

While Khris Davis and Elvis Andrus headlined the exchange of veteran mainstays between the Athletics and Rangers on Saturday, Texas also scored a catching prospect as part of the five-player trade.

Jonah Heim, who entered the weekend as the Athletics’ ninth-ranked prospect, headed to Texas, joining a catching stable that also includes Jose Trevino, No. 78 overall prospect Sam Huff and No. 15 Rangers prospect David Garcia.

In all, Texas netted a designated hitter in Davis who hit .200 last year and is entering his ninth Major League season; Heim and right-hander Dane Acker, Oakland’s fourth-round pick out of the University of Oklahoma in last summer’s draft. Oakland received Andrus and catcher Aramis Garcia.

The trade marks Heim’s third time being dealt. The Orioles selected Heim out of a New York high school in the fourth round of the 2013 Draft and traded him to the Rays for cornerman Steve Pearce in 2016. Heim was also the player to be named later in a December 2017 trade that sent Joey Wendle from Oakland to Tampa Bay.

The 25-year-old made his Major League debut in August of the shortened 2020 season and spent all of September with the big league club, hitting .211 in 12 starts.

In 2019, Heim hit .310/.385/.477 with 35 walks to 45 strikeouts in 85 games between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas. That season was a step forward for the 6-foot-4, 220-pound backstop. During his first year with the A’s organization in 2018, Heim batted .258 with strikeouts in more than 18 percent of his at-bats over 118 games between Class A Advanced Stockton and Midland. Heim lowered that mark to 15.6 percent the following summer.

The Buffalo native also made strides defensively in 2019, throwing out 52 percent of would-be basestealers. Per MLB Pipeline, a quicker release helped him round out his defensive game, which already featured solid receiving skills and a strong arm.

Acker has not made his professional debut but pitched to a 3.51 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings over four starts with the Sooners before the 2020 NCAA season was shut down. The 21-year-old right-hander was on a staff with Nationals' prospect and first-rounder Jackson Rutledge at San Jacinto JC in 2019, holding a 2.36 ERA with 11.44 strikeouts per nine innings.

Aramis Garcia was the seventh-ranked prospect in the Giants' system when he debuted in 2018. The Rangers claimed the 28-year-old off waivers from San Francisco in December. Garcia is a .258 career hitter in six Minor League seasons while batting .229 with six homers in 105 Major League at-bats.