The A’s traded for Jeff Samardzija last year, hoping the righty would put the team’s playoff chances over the top, but it didn’t work out when the A’s lost to the Royals in the Wild Card game. Top prospect Addison Russell headlined the package the A’s gave up for Samardzija, who at the time had a year and a half of control left on his contract.
That experience stands as something of a cautionary tale to Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow at this trade deadline.
“There’s a premium to winning a division because of the way the (playoff) format is set up,” Luhnow said.