“Jonah & The Big Fish”: Is Heim the Steal of This Deal?

I AM NOT A PREACHER!

In the Bible, there is a story about Jonah. He turned from God, got in a boat, was thrown out of the boat, swallowed by a fish, and spent three days in there before being spit out.

The title of this has nothing to do with that. It was just an attention grabber to get you to read this.

All Ranger fans were shocked at the news of Elvis Andrus being traded to the Oakland A’s for DH/OF Khris Davis.

If Davis plays for the Rangers, anything like he played against them, should hit a HR every other at-bat. But Davis may not be the “Big Fish” of this deal.

Davis will become a free agent after the 2021 season and surely isn’t in any future plans for the Rangers.

There is, however, a player that may be the one we look back on and think of as the steal of this deal.

Jonah Heim was one of the three players that came back to the Rangers for Elvis Andrus. The deal’s summary was Elvis Andrus and C Aramis Garcia to Oakland for Khris Davis, Heim, and RHP Dane Acker.

The Rangers picked up Garcia on a waiver claim this offseason, where he was expected to back up Jose Trevino, while Sam Huff started the season in AA or AAA. So when it was announced Heim and Garcia are switching teams, most assumed it was just two backup catchers moving to new organizations. That is until you look deeper.

Jonah Heim was slated to backup Sean Murphy, who had cemented his place as the starting catcher for Oakland. Most scouts felt he could be a starter for other teams. Most just assumed that Trevino was the new Texas starter and that a veteran backup was all that was needed until Huff arrived.

One thing is certain this offseason for Texas: there are no starting positions guaranteed except possibly SS and RF.

This move has given the Rangers 3 potential starting catchers who are big-league ready. Let the competition begin.

Here is what Baseball America said about Heim:

This is the third time Heim has been traded since the Orioles drafted him in the fourth round in 2013. A switch-hitting catcher, Heim was mostly viewed as a defense-first option with surprisingly adept blocking and receiving chops for a 6-foot-4 backstop. But his bat began to catch up in 2019, when he posted a .863 OPS in the minors and showed a better ability to control the strike zone and find pitches to drive with his moderate power. A laid back personality, the A’s challenged Heim to display more assertiveness and leadership that teams traditionally come to expect out of their catchers. He did, and in the process became a catcher who pitchers in the A’s system loved to throw to. Oakland ultimately turned to Heim down the stretch as a backup last season, but his ceiling with the A’s was limited in deference to Sean Murphy. Some in the A’s organization believed Heim could be a starter in another situation, and he’ll get a chance to carve out a more consistent role in Texas, where he could potentially team with Sam Huff in the years to come.

I reached out to someone who knows Heim well, who said, “Heim will beat out Trevino.” If that is true, this is a great deal.

Jose Trevino as the backup catcher is what a good team has because Trevino is a guy who will carve out a nice big league career.

If this eventually becomes a Huff, Heim tandem at the big league level, then we will know.

Jonah Heim will have been the “Steal of this Deal.”

Featured Image: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images