Who's Backing Up Langeliers? A's Make Their Call For Phillies Finale

With Shea Langeliers returning from the paternity list, the A's have made their decision for his backup — but is it the right call?

May 2, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers (23) reacts after hitting a tow-run home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Shea Langeliers is rejoining the A's roster for the series finale in Philadelphia against the Phillies after spending the past two games on the paternity list. Without him, the A's have lost the first two games against the Phillies, being outscored 15-4 in the process.

He was certainly missed in the first game against left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, who dominated the A's lineup for eight scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out 10. With A's manager Mark Kotsay limiting the lefties in the lineup for that game, Langeliers not being available was certainly noticeable in the lineup quality that night.

With the return of their starting catcher, the A's have designated Austin Wynns for assignment. In the early part of the offseason, the A's made the decision to go with Wynns as their backup catcher instead of Willie MacIver, who was coming off his rookie campaign in the big leagues. MacIver ended up in Texas, and now Wynns is on the market as well.

We've mentioned a couple of times in recent months that Langeliers' biggest leverage over the club in extension talks is that they simply don't have any options in the minor leagues that could feasibly hold his position while being close to the same level of performance.

A's decision to DFA Wynns

Mar 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Athletics catcher Austin Wynns (29) hits against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images | Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

Austin Wynns is batting .077 with a .143 OBP across 43 plate appearances this season. While his role wasn't one of the biggest on the club, this was an area that the A's could easily make an improvement.

The team acquired Jonah Heim from the Atlanta Braves earlier this week, and while his bat has been better than Wynns' his defense has been worse. Heim has hit .209 with a .286 OBP this season and has a little more power than his predecessor.

We made the argument earlier this week that while Heim is a nice piece to have in a pinch with Langeliers out, Wynns may be the better option of the two because of the superior defensive ability he provides. With many fan's biggest worry about this team being the pitching staff, the backup catcher being more defensive minded makes more sense.

The A's are going with Heim, however, which could work out very well. He has more upside at the dish, which could mask some of those defensive limitations, but he also may not be the last backup catcher the A's call upon this season if the defense doesn't catch up.