Leading into Saturday’s five-player trade, the A’s and Rangers have navigated the offseason in two completely different ways. The A’s had made a total of four additions (two of which were Rule 5 picks) to their 40-man roster and had watched as six of their 10 free agents departed this offseason, while the Rangers had made a series of trades, free-agent signings and other moves to overhaul their big-league roster.
For the Rangers, dealing longtime starting shortstop Elvis Andrus to the A’s was an emphatic punctuation on a wild winter. For the A’s, the trade of Khris Davis was their first (and probably their only) truly big move of the offseason, a move that frees up roughly $14 million that could be used for a last-minute signing. The full package is as follows: the A’s acquire Andrus, catcher Aramís García and cash from the Texas Rangers, who receive Davis, catcher Jonah Heim and right-handed pitching prospect Dane Acker in…
