CHICAGO -- Just before 2022 Spring Training, the Athletics were shopping star first baseman Matt Olson around the league as part of a full-on rebuild when a catcher from the Braves’ system named Shea Langeliers piqued their interest.
The A’s scouted Langeliers heavily while he was playing for Baylor ahead of the 2019 MLB Draft and loved what they saw from the uber-athletic backstop. The compact swing and big power. The advanced skills behind the dish, highlighted by his cannon of an arm. But holding pick No. 29 that year, they knew they had no shot at drafting him, which was very true as he went ninth overall to the Braves that summer.
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Engaged in trade talks with Atlanta a few years later, the A’s viewed acquiring Langeliers as the best shot to replace a cornerstone player in Olson with a potential future franchise player. That’s why, throughout those discussions with Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos, A’s general manager David Forst remained insistent on Langeliers being included to make a deal between the two sides happen.
On March 14, Forst got his man. Olson was traded to the Braves, and heading back to the A’s was a four-prospect package headlined by Langeliers, who, at the time, ranked as Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 68 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
“We absolutely thought he was the centerpiece,” Forst said. “He was ‘The Guy’ in that trade. No doubt. … Did I know he was going to be this guy? You hope.”
That guy is the starting catcher for the American League in the 2026 All-Star Game. Steady improvement in each of Langeliers’ five Major League seasons has led to him being selected by the fans to represent the A’s on July 14 in Philadelphia, the club’s first catcher to start a Midsummer Classic since Terry Steinbach in 1989.
Langeliers has been a steady power threat in the middle of the A’s order. Entering Friday with 20 home runs, the 28-year-old is now only the ninth A’s player with a stretch of at least four consecutive 20-homer seasons since the franchise moved to California in 1968. That list is a star-studded group:
Reggie Jackson (8 years, 1968-75)
Eric Chavez (7 years, 2000-06)
Jason Giambi (6 years, 1996-2001)
Mark McGwire (6 years, 1987-92)
Miguel Tejada (5 years, 1999-2003)
Shea Langeliers (4 years, 2023-26)
Khris Davis (4 years, 2016-19)
Matt Stairs (4 years, 1997-2000)
Gene Tenace (4 years, 1973-76)
What makes Langeliers’ feat all the more impressive, though, is that he’s the only one of those nine players to do it as a full-time catcher. We all know how demanding that position is. Catchers have to handle pitching staffs while also typically taking a beating behind the dish.
Langeliers is no different, yet his power stroke has never faltered, now at 102 homers since the start of the 2023 season.
“Every catcher across the league will tell you it’s a grind to get back there every night,” Langeliers said. “You do your best to recover and take care of your body, nutrition and all that. It’s not easy. To be able to compete offensively, too, is huge.”
This four-year run of success for Langeliers was molded by the wealth of knowledge he soaked up in his debut ’22 campaign. During what he called “Catcher Heaven,” Langeliers had a chance to play alongside both Sean Murphy and Stephen Vogt that year. Both former All-Stars and one now considered one of the best managers in the game, there might not be a better duo for a young catcher to learn from.
“Murph is more the laid-back type who leads by example,” Langeliers said. “He’s not going to say a whole lot. Vogter, the best way to describe him is like the best teammate I ever had. He’s there for everybody. He’s fired up. High energy. … To watch two really good players do it two different ways helped me become who I am.”
The following year, the A’s traded Sean Murphy to the Braves, essentially handing the keys to the everyday catching role over to a 25-year-old catcher with only 40 games of big league experience. Not only has Langeliers responded by emerging as one of the best catchers in baseball, he’s also a leader for this young A’s squad on the rise.
“I was propelled into that [leadership] role a little quicker than normal just because of where we were at as a team with a bunch of younger guys,” Langeliers said. “I got there a little quicker than I thought I was going to.”