ARLINGTON, Texas — Jonah Heim had played only 13 big league games before he was traded for the third time, a multiplayer deal that brought the switch-hitting catcher to the Texas Rangers in exchange for their longtime starting shortstop and last remaining piece of their first two World Series teams.

Heim was previously dealt twice in a 16-month span as a minor leaguer even before his MLB debut, for a journeyman first baseman-outfielder who went on to become a World Series MVP, and later an infielder who also played in a Fall Classic and became an All-Star.

While Heim wasn’t the primary figure in any of those deals, including the one when he came with veteran slugger Khris Davis from Oakland to Texas right before spring training in 2021, he became an AL All-Star starter this season and is now behind the plate for the Rangers against Arizona in their first World Series since Elvis Andrus was the young shortstop for their only other Fall Classic appearances in 2010 and 2011.

“Coming here was probably the best thing that ever happened in my career,” the 28-year-old Heim said.

“We know he’s a great offensive player, but I think as a catcher he’s really improved his game,” veteran closer Jose Leclerc said through a translator. “We’ve improved as well working with him, so I think it’s something that we both have to learn from each other. … I think it’s just something that’s going to keep getting better over time.”

Jose Trevino and Heim split time behind the plate in 2021, and the Rangers acquired Mitch Garver the following spring with the anticipation of him being the primary starter. Trevino was then traded to the New York Yankees, where he debuted with an All-Star season.

But Garver had a torn flexor tendon in his throwing arm in 2022, started only 14 games at catcher and was limited mostly to being a designated hitter before season-ending surgery that July. Heim was the starting catcher for 102 of his 127 games, and completely spent by the end of the season after that unexpected heavy workload.

“Last year was definitely a learning experience,” Heim said. “Never experienced a grueling 162 (game) grind like that, and getting to play every day on top of that.”

Heim was ready for it this season, when Garver missed 47 games after getting sidelined early with a sprained left knee. Heim started 116 games at catcher in the regular season, playing 41 of the last 45 after returning Aug. 13 from being on the injured list with a left wrist tendon strain. He has started every game this postseason with Garver in a DH role.

“I feel great. I had three weeks off, not by choice, but got the body right,” he said. “And adrenaline is a powerful drug.”

Pitching coach Mike Maddux has called Heim the unsung hero of this postseason run for the wild-card Rangers, with the catcher engaged in every pitch and all the daily advance game-planning.

“Watching Jonah grow this year has been great and I think as it’s come down where he’s caught every game now, he’s getting better and better and better,” Maddux said. “He has stepped up his game and he’s taking full responsibility back there. He’s not the loudest guy in the world, needless to say. But his heart’s big and he gives a damn.”

Rangers right-hander Jon Gray said Heim, a Gold Glove finalist who has gained quite a reputation for framing pitches, has always handled things like a veteran.

“I feel like he’s felt like an older guy the whole time I’ve been here,” Gray said. “But it’s only gotten better too, like he steals a lot of strikes. … He’s done a great job and obviously hitting, he’s been putting up crazy numbers. So, I mean, not a whole lot more you can ask for.”

In addition to working with the pitchers, Heim hit .259 with 18 homers and 95 RBIs in the regular season. His 91 RBI in games when he was also behind the plate were the most in a single season for any Texas catcher other than Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.

OBIT: Frank Howard, a four-time All-Star who slugged 382 home runs during a lengthy major league career that included a World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1963, has died. He was 87.

A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals said the team was informed of Howard’s death by his family Monday. A cause of death was not provided.

“He was the ultimate teammate,” Dick Bosman, who played six-plus seasons with Howard with Washington and Texas and remained friends with him for decades, told The Associated Press. “Next to my dad, he’s the greatest guy I know.”

Howard played seven seasons with the Washington Senators after earning NL Rookie of the Year honors with the Dodgers in 1960 and helping them win the World Series three years later. He was with the Senators when they relocated to Texas and became the Rangers and finished his playing career with the Detroit Tigers.

“Growing up a baseball fan in Washington D.C., Frank Howard was my hero,” Nationals owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “The towering home runs he hit into the stands at RFK Stadium gave him the nickname ‘Capital Punisher,’ but I’ll always remember him as a kind and gentle man. The entire Lerner family would like to offer our thoughts and condolences to Frank’s family during this difficult time. The world of baseball has truly lost a giant.”

The Rangers called Howard “a bigger than life personality who was very popular with his teammates and the fans.”

CARDINALS: Adam Wainwright’s official reason for retirement: “Because I got a puppy!”

The St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher went on the voluntarily retired list on Oct. 2, the day after the regular season ended, rather than wait to become a free agent after the World Series.

He listed the pooch as the reason for the retirement on the paperwork he submitted to Major League Baseball and posted his retirement papers online Monday.

Wainwright promised his children they would get a family dog when he retired from baseball and the Cardinals presented the Wainwrights a Lagotto Romagnolo puppy during a 35-minute ceremony before the Oct. 1 season finale. Wainwright’s wife, Jenny, named the puppy Louie.

Wainwright went 200-128 with a 3.53 ERA in 18 major league seasons, all with the Cardinals. The 42-year-old right-hander got his 200th win in his final pitching appearance against Milwaukee on Sept. 18.

GUARDIANS: Craig Counsell’s place in Cleveland baseball history is as World Series villain.

He could become something more appealing.

Counsell, who has led the Milwaukee Brewers to the playoffs five times in the past six seasons, is meeting with Guardians about their managerial opening, a person familiar with the discussions told The Associated Press.

The 53-year-old Counsell is at Progressive Field for his interview with the Guardians, said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team is not making any of its search public.

Counsell’s contract with Milwaukee is set to expire this week, but the Brewers are allowing him to look elsewhere while also hoping they can re-sign the coveted manager. The New York Mets are also reportedly interested in Counsell and have far more money to offer him than either the small-market Brewers or Guardians.

Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio has said on multiple occasions that the team wants Counsell back in 2024.

Counsell has an interesting connection to Cleveland. As a light-hitting infielder with Florida, he hit a game-tying sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series as the Marlins rallied to beat Cleveland and win a title.

Counsell also scored the winning run in the 11th inning on Edgar Rentería’s single off Cleveland’s Charles Nagy.

OBIT: Frank Howard, a four-time All-Star who slugged 382 home runs during a lengthy major league career that included a World Series title with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1963, has died. He was 87.

A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals said the team was informed of Howard’s death by his family. A cause of death was not provided.

Howard played seven seasons with the Washington Senators after earning NL Rookie of the Year honors with the Dodgers in 1960 and helping them win the World Series three years later. He was with the Senators when they relocated to Texas and became the Rangers and finished his playing career with the Detroit Tigers.

AWARDS: New York Yankees star Aaron Judge won Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award for character, community involvement and philanthropy.

He is the fourth Yankees player to receive the honor after Ron Guidry (1984), Don Baylor (1985) and Derek Jeter (2009).

A five-time All-Star and the 2022 American League MVP, Judge established his All Rise Foundation in 2018. It supports youth in New York and in California’s San Joaquin and Fresno counties, near his home.