WEST SACRAMENTO -- Shea Langeliers, a backbone of this young Athletics club over the past few years, will miss an extended amount of time.
Before Friday’s 5-4 win over the Orioles at Sutter Health Park, Langeliers was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique. The 27-year-old catcher was removed for a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning of Thursday’s victory over the Twins after feeling discomfort following a swing on a pitch he fouled off against reliever Kody Funderburk.
No official grade was placed on the strain, but given the complexity of oblique issues, it is likely that Langeliers will be sidelined beyond the minimum of 10 days.
“With obliques, it varies,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “It’s a tricky injury.”
For comparison's sake, Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson suffered a mild left oblique strain in mid-March during Spring Training and missed the first 32 games of the regular season before returning to Major League action on May 2.
“It’s probably at least a few weeks,” Kotsay said. “That’s what I can give you right now.”
Langeliers has been a mainstay behind the plate since debuting in 2022 and has appeared in 305 games at catcher for the A’s since the start of the 2023 season. In addition to being lauded by A’s pitchers for his game-calling, he has also emerged as one of the top power-hitting catchers in baseball, with 61 home runs over the past three seasons, including 10 through his first 56 games of '25.
Langeliers now lands on the injured list for the first time in his professional career, and he’s not the only big bat the A’s will be without for a considerable amount of time. Earlier this week, the A’s lost Miguel Andujar, who was hitting .296 through 46 games, for an estimated 4-6 weeks after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain of his right oblique.
“It hurts,” Kotsay said of losing Langeliers. “There’s no question his production is going to be missed. Guys have to step up. That’s the nature of the game. We’ve lost two middle-of-the-order bats in the last week. So, guys are going to have to step it up and help in that production while they’re out.”
Willie MacIver is the likely next man up behind the dish for the A’s. Called up from Triple-A Las Vegas for his Major League debut last month after going on a tear in the Minors by hitting .389 with a 1.017 OPS in 35 games, the 28-year-old backstop was in the starting lineup on Friday and figures to get the majority of reps in Langeliers’ absence.
Jhonny Pereda, who made the A’s Opening Day roster, was recalled from Las Vegas on Friday. Hitting .346 over his last seven games in the Minors, Pereda returns to the Majors swinging it well and is also in the mix for some playing time.
“The job Willie’s done and the few starts that he’s had, he’s been able to manage games pretty well,” Kotsay said. “He’s had some good at-bats. We’ll look at the matchups. Willie will probably get the bulk of games to start. But it’ll be fluid. Jhonny is back and did a nice job in Triple-A. It’s always nice when you have someone in your system you can bring up who has been in the big leagues with us.”