The Athletics announced today that All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a torn meniscus in his right knee. The move, which is retroactive to July 25th, sees catcher Brian Serven recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, Langeliers suffered the injury on the basepaths during the current series against the Twins. As a result of the tear, he could miss the remainder of the season.
Per Passan, Langeliers is deciding whether to undergo surgery. If he does go under the knife, as is usually the case for meniscus tears, that would come with a six to eight-week recovery timeline. The A’s are nine games out of a Wild Card spot and have no reason to rush Langeliers back for a few games in September, so any surgery would mean he’s out until 2027. Further details on the need for surgery and the recovery timeline should be made public in the coming days.
It’s a sudden and devastating blow for the A’s, who have already suffered a number of injuries en route to a disappointing season. Brent Rooker, who’d been struggling to an 82 wRC+ this year, underwent season-ending knee surgery at the start of July. Infielder Zack Gelof had a knee laceration a couple of weeks ago and remains out at the moment. Nick Kurtz went on the 10-day IL before the All-Star break, though he returned yesterday after a two-week absence. Other injured position players include Joshua Kuroda-Grauer and Denzel Clarke, and the A’s also have three pitchers apiece on the 15-day and 60-day injured lists.
Langeliers is easily the most significant of those injuries. In 416 plate appearances this year, he was batting .263/.332/.497 with 23 home runs and a 127 wRC+. The latter figure is the second-best mark on the team behind Kurtz as well as second-best among qualified catchers in the Junior Circuit, behind only the Tigers’ Dillon Dingler. Langeliers was also providing value behind the plate, as he’s been worth 5 Defensive Runs Saved in 2026 compared to -10 DRS in each of the previous two years.
Put it all together, and Langeliers was one of the team’s most valuable position players and one of the best catchers in the league. Now that he’s facing an extended absence, the A’s will go with Jonah Heim as their starter behind the plate, at least in the short term. Since coming over from the Braves in a cash trade in May, Heim has batted .233/.278/.433 with a 92 wRC+ in 162 plate appearances. That’s plenty serviceable for a backup catcher, but obviously a massive downgrade from Langeliers in a starting role.
As MLBTR’s Anthony Franco mentioned in our Trade Deadline Outlook entry on the Athletics, Heim is also an impending free agent. The Twins’ Ryan Jeffers and the Rockies’ Hunter Goodman have been mentioned as targets for teams needing catching help. While Jeffers could be dealt even if the Twins aren’t pure sellers, Goodman is more of a long shot, as he’s controlled through 2029 and would cost a king’s ransom in a trade.
Heim is a potential backup option for teams who miss out on Jeffers. With the A’s well out of contention, it makes sense to trade him for a lottery ticket prospect rather than let him walk for nothing in the offseason. That would leave Serven as the starting catcher for the last two months of the season. He’s also the only catcher on the 40-man roster besides Langeliers and Heim, so a trade of the latter might require some kind of low-cost depth signing to fill the backup spot.
Langeliers himself was seen as a long-shot trade candidate, partly because the A’s haven’t managed to extend him like their other young stars. However, as with Goodman, Langeliers is controllable beyond the 2026 season and would have cost a significant haul of prospects or other controllable talent. Unlike the Rockies, the Athletics are hoping to contend in 2027, and dealing Langeliers would have left them without one of their best hitters in that effort. Regardless, any speculation on a Langeliers trade is all but finished with the meniscus tear, as the club has little choice but to focus on his rehab and healthy return in 2027.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
