A's All-Star Langeliers likely out for 2026 after torn meniscus
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Shea Langeliers tore the meniscus in his right knee on the basepaths and, if he undergoes surgery as expected, would be sidelined through the end of the 2026 season.
- The injury will almost certainly end trade discussions around Langeliers, regarded as among the best catchers in baseball; while the A's had not planned to move him, multiple teams hoped their stance would soften before the Aug. 3 deadline.
- The Athletics sit at 44-60 with an MLB-worst minus-122 run differential, their pitching staff posting a 5.37 ERA and the offense hit by season-ending knee surgery for slugger Brent Rooker plus injuries to Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson.
- Over 93 games, Langeliers hit .263/.332/.497 with 23 home runs and 51 RBIs, threw out 11 of 35 attempted base stealers, and was on pace to become just the third catcher in major league history with three straight 29-homer seasons.
- Acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the 2022 Matt Olson trade, Langeliers has 105 home runs since becoming the A's full-time catcher in 2023 — second only to Cal Raleigh.
- Jonah Heim, a former All-Star who has played well in Langeliers' absence and was seen as a potential trade chip, will take over as Oakland's full-time catcher.
Why it matters: Langeliers was the A's most productive player and on a historic power-hitting pace for a catcher, so losing him for the rest of 2026 deepens a losing season already crippled by pitching woes and injuries to Rooker, Kurtz, and Wilson, and it removes the A's most attractive trade asset from an Aug. 3 deadline picture that had drawn interest from rival clubs.
