Prior to the 2002 season, the Oakland A’s made an intriguing trade with the Texas Rangers. On January 14, they sent Jason Hart, Ryan Ludwick, Gerald Laird, and Mario Ramos to the Rangers in exchange for Carlos Pena and Mike Venafro. For the A’s, Pena was the prize, a slugging first baseman that was expected to be a cornerstone for the franchise.
At the time, Pena was considered to be the fifth best prospect in all of baseball. He had annihilated pitching in AAA the year before, posting a .