Projecting What a Shea Langeliers Extension Could Cost the A’s
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The Athletics signed both Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler to extensions last offseason, and GM David Forst has said that extending more players "is a possibility" this winter, stating that he's had a lot of talks with ownership about extending that model and locking guys up into their time in Las Vegas.
While many fans are likely clamoring for those extensions to go to Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz, extensions are a two-way street. For those two players in particular, they're young and could end up proving themselves even more next year. There is no incentive for them to handcuff future earnings for themselves.
Catcher Shea Langeliers on the other hand is heading into his first year of arbitration, has three years of team control left, and is coming off a career-best season at the age of 27, heading into his age 28 campaign. This could be the time that he cashes in.
Why Langeliers is a Likely Extension Candidate
As we mentioned recently, Langeliers put up a season in 2025 that was step for step with J.T. Realmuto's 2018 campaign, when he too was 27.
"Lang" batted .277 with a .325 OBP, 31 home runs, 7 stolen bases, and 3.9 fWAR. While Cal Raleigh led the league in home runs with 60 this season and could end up with the AL MVP award, Langeliers was a top-5 catcher based on WAR this year, and a top-4 catcher with the bat. Technically he's top-3, given that one of the players above him is Ben Rice, who played just 36 games behind the dish.
Shea has been on this type of trajectory throughout his time with the A's, and now he's reaching his potential. With the club on the rise as a whole, locking in one of the best catchers in baseball is not only a boost to the lineup in the long-term, but also helps with the pitching staff.
He's constantly putting in work to make sure the staff is ready and that they have a gameplan they're comfortable with. Adding more years of Langeliers in Green and Gold would be a solid move on two different fronts.
What Would the Extension Look Like?
Given that Langeliers just matched Realmuto at the same age, we're going to largely base his potential earnings on what the Phillies backstop has earned in his time since 2018. The other question we have to deal with is how long the extension will be. The most likely outcome would be a five-or-six year pact, given that he's a backstop, and they don't tend to age well.
Realmuto has been roughly a two-win player the past three seasons, but in order for the A's to lock up Langeliers past 2028, they're going to have to run that risk.
The A's catcher is projected to make $5.1 million in his first year of arbitration, which is actually above Realmuto, who made $2.9 million in his first year of arbitration. The veteran catcher went on to make $5.9 million and $10 million before signing a five-year deal with the Phillies.
For Langeliers, we have to look at where he's starting from, and the trajectory of his arbitration salaries. Starting at $5.1 million is great for the player, and should see him land somewhere in the $9-10 million range with similar production in year two. That would leave him in line for perhaps $15-16 million in his final year of arbitration.
We'll put him at $10 million for 2027 and $15 million for 2028, which would put him at $30.1 million just in his arbitration years. Realmuto signed his five-year, $115.5 million contract heading into his age 30 season, while Langeliers will be going into his age 31 season when he potentially reaches free agency.
The A's haven't shown that they're willing to go above $67 million in John Fisher's time of owning the team, so let's keep them in that range here. Realmuto ended up with an average annual value of $23.1 million per season when he signed his deal, with the first year coming out at $20 million.
Given the rise of contract prices and the A's catcher being perhaps just a touch below Realmuto at this point in his career, let's add two seasons at $20 million into his free agent years. That would give him a deal for five years (three arbitration years) and $70.1 million, making him the new highest-paid player in franchise history, passing Luis Severino's three-year, $67 million from last winter.
The A's would still be getting some of his most productive seasons, while Langeliers would be getting a bit of security.
The one interesting wrinkle here is that Realmuto's five-year deal with the Phillies is now up, making him a free agent. Seeing how he does in free agency this winter at the age of 34 could be informative to Langeliers on when he wants to hit the free agent market.
The contract we laid out would keep him with the A's through his age-32 season, so there would certainly be time left in his career for a second good-sized contract, but if Realmuto sits out too long or has to settle for a below-market deal, that could influence the A's catcher's thinking on a possible extension.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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