The Athletics announced today that the All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers was placed on the 10-day injured list with a torn meniscus in his right knee. This initiative, which will be back up to July 25, sees a person who has taken part Brian Serven recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Langeliers suffered a hamstring injury during the current series against the Twins. Because of this injury, he may miss the rest of the season.
Per Passan, Langeliers is deciding whether to undergo surgery. If it goes under the knife, as is often the case with meniscus tears, that can come with a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks. OA are nine games out of the Wild Card and have no reason to rush Langeliers back for a few games in September, so any surgery would mean he’s out until 2027. More details on the need for surgery and the recovery timeline should be made public in the coming days.
It comes as a surprise and a blow to the A’s, who have suffered a number of injuries from a disappointing season. Brent Rookerwho struggled to an 82 wRC+ this year, had season-ending knee surgery in early July. Striker Zack Gelof he had a broken knee a few weeks ago and is out at the moment. Nick Kurtz went on IL for ten days before the All-Star break, although he returned yesterday after missing two weeks. Other injured position players include Joshua Kuroda-Grauer again Denzel Clarkeand the A’s also have three pitchers each on the 15-day and 60-day injured lists.
Langeliers is very important in that injury. In 416 plate appearances this year, he was hitting .263/.332/.497 with 23 home runs and a 127 wRC+. The latter tally is the second-highest on the team behind Kurtz as well as the second-highest among Junior Circuit participants, behind only the Tigers. Dillon Dingler. Langeliers has also been providing value behind the plate, as he was worth 5 Defensive Runs Saved in 2026 compared to -10 DRS the previous two years.
Add it all up, and Langeliers was one of the team’s most valuable players and one of the best catchers in the league. Now that he faces a long layoff, the A’s will go with them Jonah Heim as their starter behind the plate, at least in the short term. Since being traded to the Braves in May, Heim has hit .233/.278/.433 with a 92 wRC+ in 162 plate appearances. That’s a lot to work on for the supporting cast, but it’s clearly a huge relegation to Langeliers in the starting role.
As Anthony Franco of MLBTR mentioned in our Trade Deadline Outlook entry on the Athletics, Heim is also an upcoming free agent. The Twins’ Ryan Jeffers and the Rockies’ Hunter Goodman It has been mentioned as the goals of teams that need help catching. While Jeffers can’t be dealt or the Twins aren’t pure tradesmen, Goodman is a long shot, as he’s controlled through 2029 and could command a king’s ransom in a trade.
Heim is a potential backup option for teams that miss Jeffers. With A’s source out of contention, it makes sense to trade him for a chance at a lottery ticket rather than let him walk for free in the short term. That will leave Serven as the starting catcher for the final two months of the season. He’s also the only 40-man roster spot besides Langeliers and Heim, so trading the latter may require some kind of low-cost signing to fill the backup spot.
Langeliers was also seen as a long-term trade candidate, as the A’s were unable to develop him like their other stars. However, as with Goodman, Langeliers is controllable beyond the 2026 season and would have cost more prospects or other controllable talent. Unlike the Rockies, the Athletics hope to make a playoff run in 2027, and facing the Langeliers would leave them without one of the top hitters in that effort. Either way, any speculation about Langeliers’ trade has ended with the meniscus tear, as the club has no choice but to focus on his return to fitness in 2027.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
