Signs A's Ownership May Have a Shea Langeliers Extension in the Works
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Earlier this week, A's owner John Fisher made an appearance on A's Cast to celebrate the unveiling of the team's Baseball Experience in Las Vegas. He talked with Chris Townsend about the construction of the ballpark, and his excitement level for the 2026 season after watching watching his team come together in the second half.
Yet, towards the end of the interview, when he was asked about his excitement level for next season, he began listing some of the tremendous talents on the roster, naming Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson for finishing one-two in the Rookie of the Year voting, and Denzel Clarke winning Catch of the Year.
Then he mentioned being able to sign Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler to "long-term contracts" before going straight into mentioning catcher Shea Langeliers.
That is the first potential hint here. Fisher is not necessarily a polished speaker with the media, and it's possible that he made the connection between not only Shea's great season, but also the previous extensions, and decided to mention him right there, knowing that his club is having talks with Langeliers and his representatives.
That on its own may not mean much, but when coupled with how he followed that up with, "I mean, I don't want to single any players out, because we have so many amazing players on our team that are growing into their own, and that are just hitting the ground running." This makes you wonder if he felt he was tipping his hand and had to change the subject.
It's entirely possible this is the case, and it's also entirely possible that we're reaching just a touch here.
A's GM David Forst said earlier this winter, "I’ve had a lot of conversations with ownership about wanting to continue that model and locking guys up into our time in Las Vegas. It’s a two-way street, but I imagine we’ll be initiating some of those conversations in the next months."
Last month we ranked the most likely candidates for an extension—and what they'd end up costing—with Langeliers being at the top of that list. Shea being such a great fit for a potential extension is what made that part of Fisher's quote stand out a little bit in the first place.
This past season, he was essentially matching prime J.T. Realmuto, batting .277 with a .325 OBP, 31 home runs, 72 RBI, and a 132 wRC+ (100 is league average), while also cutting his strikeout rate to 19.7%. It was a breakout season for Langeliers in 2025, and he should have many more to come if he continues to follow in Realmuto's footsteps.
Another factor that could actually make an extension more likely is the fact that the catcher and the A's didn't agree to terms to avoid arbitration already. This means that contract talks for 2026 will be ongoing into January's deadline, and it would be surprising if the club didn't at least offer up a full-on extension in those talks.
Langeliers is under team control through 2028, and is in his first year of three arbitration years in 2026.
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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