The Athletics have played their way into a decision. Losing 10 of their last 11 to fall 14 games under .500, Oakland now looks like a Deadline seller — and MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported Saturday that the club is “open to anything” before the Aug. 3 cutoff.
The most valuable name that phrase could put in play is All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers. Heyman noted, per MLB.com, that the A’s have tried to lock Langeliers into a long-term extension the way they did with Lawrence Butler, Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker — but those talks “went nowhere.” A team that can’t sign a player it wants to keep is a team that has to at least listen.
Langeliers, 28, has turned himself into one of the better catchers in the sport. He is hitting .258/.327/.490 with 22 home runs and 52 RBIs through 88 games, and he is controllable through the 2028 season — the kind of profile that commands a steep return rather than a rental-priced one. That control cuts both ways: it gives the A’s every reason to set a high bar, and every reason to keep him if the offers don’t clear it.
The fit that jumps off the page is New York. Yankees catchers have combined for a .519 OPS this season, and the club is known to be hunting an upgrade behind the plate — ideally a right-handed bat to pair with the lefty-hitting Austin Wells. Langeliers checks both boxes. Heyman also flagged the Dodgers as a possible suitor, with All-Star Will Smith pausing baseball activities as he works back from neck inflammation.
None of this is a done deal, and “open to anything” is a long way from a trade. But a controllable, middle-of-the-order catcher is the rarest thing on this market, and the A’s just told the league the door is open. If Oakland decides to sell, Langeliers is the name that reshapes the deadline.
