If what transpired in the first of the offseason said anything, it was that that AL West had turned into a two-horse race. The reigning division champion Texas Rangers weren't about to lose their stranglehold on the West, signing free agents
Seth Smith (.252, 14 HR in 102 games) and
Hector Rondon (8-5, 7 saves, 3.69 ERA) and trading for
Mike Foltynewicz (11-4, 3.29 ERA, 125 K in 136.2 IP). Oakland had bolstered its lineup with
Francisco Lindor and its rotation with
Matt Harvey. Now the team also had a surefire .300 leadoff man in Japanese signee
Daisuke Imamura.
That left three also-ran's in the West. The LA Angels (84-78) were unusually quiet in free agency, presumably to free up as much money to re-sign
Mike Trout when he hit free agency the following winter. The Seattle Mariners (80-82) were coming off their third straight losing season and were waiting out the rapidly declining
Robinson Cano (.255, 4 HR in 63 games) and his remaining $92 million in salary over the next four years.
The third unlikely member of the bottom portion of the division was the Houston Astros. Just two years removed from an 88-win campaign in 2017, the Astros foundered in 2019 to a disappointing 80-82 finish. The front office had hitched its wagon to
Dallas Keuchel,
Jose Altuve,
Lance McCullers Jr., and
Carlos Correa. Correa had turned in a career-year in 2019, hitting 55 home runs with 153 RBI on the way to AL MVP honors. But the rest of the club struggled. Keuchel was sidelined in 2018 with a elbow injury, followed by a devastating UCL tear that kept him out of the 2019 season. The former Cy Young winner had over $80 million due to him over the next four seasons. Altuve, meanwhile, hit a career-low .266 in 2019, hardly justifying the $143 million extension he signed midway through the season.
With the dominance of the Rangers and the rise of the Athletics, the Astros could sense which way the wind was blowing and were eager to sell high on Correa in an effort to rebuild for the future. The A's were only too happy to oblige.
Just days after introducing Imamura to the American media at a press conference in Oakland, A's GM Amit Patel was at the Winter Meetings in San Diego, hunting for a deal with Houston. With the blessing of team owner John Fisher, Patel was allowed to enter negotiations with the Astros for the recently anointed MVP. To complicate matters, Billy Beane had insisted that he sit in on negotiations.
"I thought it was just going to be me and you," Houston GM Jeff Luhnow told Patel as he skeptically glanced at Beane. The two sides had set up shop in a suite at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. The suite afforded a majestic view of San Diego Bay and Coronado Island, but it went wasted on a group of baseball executives anxious to make a deal.
"If it's a problem, we can all just leave right now," Beane responded as if to get up from the table.
"Billy represents ownership, so we don't have to wait on a call from Mr. Fisher for final approval," Patel interceded. "Please, Jeff, let me know what kind of package you'd like to put us together."
"Kendall, Barreto, Cotton, and Arenado," Lunow said sternly. "No more, no less."
Jeren Kendall had just been named AL Rookie of the Year, thanks to a debut season that saw him lace 26 doubles, 11 triples, and 14 home runs while swiping 29 bases. He was regarded as baseball's next premiere centerfielder, with unparalleled range, a rocket arm, and speed to burn. Patel figured Kendall would be the centerpiece of any reasonable trade offer, and he didn't blush at the thought of trading him.
Franklin Barreto was another matter entirely. He was part of the original package offer to Cleveland for Lindor, and Beane nearly blew up the trade when he pulled Barreto out of the swap.
"Barreto is a no-go," Beane said coolly. "You can forget his name, and forget this trade if you think you're going to get him."
Patel knew he had no chance of convincing Beane to part with Barreto, so he moved the discussion to the other players involved.
"Let's start with Kendall, who I think we can all agree is a tremendous asset and will be a Gold Glove outfielder," Patel said as he tried to draw both Beane and Lunow back in. "We could go Kendall for Correa, straight-up."
"Hah!" Lunow exclaimed with a mocking laugh. "An MVP for a Rookie of the Year. I don't think so!"
"Come on, Jeff, you know we can't take on a salary like Correa's without some sort of compromise on your side," pleaded Patel. "Nobody else is going to offer you a player like Kendall."
Correa was due just $9.6 million in 2020, but his salary would jump to $12.4 million in 2021, and then $14.7 million for the final two years of his contract. His recently-signed extension would send him to free agency at a prime age of 29, another consideration in the proceedings. With the A's already committing so much money to their new Japanese import, they had little money to spare this offseason.
"How about I throw in Phegley as well?" Patel said promisingly. "He'd make a solid starting catcher for you."
Josh Phegley had been mired in AAA Nashville, last playing in the Majors in 2018 for a brief 38-game stint with Oakland. But he still had promise, evidenced by the 23 home run season he put together for the White Sox AAA affiliate before being traded to the A's in the
Jeff Samardzjia deal in 2014.
"Barreto," Lunow said, "What would it take to get him into this package?"
"That's it!" Beane shouted as he got up from his chair. "This is over! No Barreto. Period!"
Beane went for the door, looking back at Patel.
"Are you coming?" he said expectantly.
"Not yet," Patel said. "Let me just finish up here. Give me just a minute."
Beane stormed out of the room, leaving only Patel and Lunow.
"Look, you have to understand that Franklin Barreto is not going to be a part of any deal," Patel said apologetically. "Billy wants to save face on him in that Donaldson trade, and there's nothing I can say to change that. He'll never let it happen. I'm sorry."
Patel started to gather his things, shaking Lunow's hand and thanking him for his time.
"Now I'm sure he could sign off on letting me trade you a couple of good prospect," Patel said as he felt out the situation, "if it meant you would agree to pay Correa's contract in return."
"Which prospects?" Lunow asked.
Patel handed him a sheet of paper.
"Any two on this list," Patel said. "Plus you throw in
Teoscar Hernandez and
Framber Valdez."
Lunow was intrigued. The prospect list was promising. Hernandez had been shuttling back and forth between AAA Fresno and Houston since 2016, never quite catching on in the Majors. Valdez had faltered in AAA and the bigs after a promising start to the 2019 season in AA, getting rocked for 7 runs on 8 hits in just 1.1 innings in Fresno, and then posting a 14.49 ERA in 9 MLB appearances late season.
"But we've got to make this fast," added Patel. "Billy is going to take some smoothing over, and he's going to be real pissed if I'm here much longer."
"Arenado and Papantonis," Lunow hastily replied. "I'll do it if you'll give me Kendall, Phegley, Arenado, and Papantonis."
Kyler Arenado was a 7th round pick out of Mississippi State in 2018. The young second baseman hit .298 the previous season in the AZL, hitting 7 home runs in 36 starts.
Andrew Papantonis was the more promising of the two minor leaguers, boasting a flawless glove and defense at shortstop in the low minors at the young age of 20. He was exactly the kind of middle infielder Patel had envisioned in the A's new ballpark, but was now expendable with the acquisition of Lindor.
"Done," Patel said smiling. "Pleasure doing business with you."
Amit couldn't believe his good fortune as he buttoned up the trade with the Astros. Neither could Beane, who conceded that Patel had pulled off a coupe in landing Correa from Houston. The trade left a gigantic hole in the A's outfield and they couldn't exactly place Correa at his natural position with Lindor occupying shortstop. But the deal was lauded by fans and media alike as news broke from the Winter Meetings back home in Oakland. Finally, the A's had some pop in their batting order.
The Astros trade AL MVP Carlos Correa to the A's
Carlos Correa's impressive resume