The Athletics’ All-Star break arrives with the kind of momentum they did not want. After dropping their final three series to close the first half, they sit at 41-55 and eight games back of Seattle in the AL West as of July 14. That collapse has already shifted the conversation around the deadline, and it may have put one of their biggest names squarely on the trade block.
Nick Kurtz is not the player in question. Shea Langeliers is.
Langeliers, the American League’s starting catcher in the All-Star Game, has been one of the A’s bright spots this season. He’s hitting .257 with an .807 OPS and leads the team with 21 home runs. A player with that kind of production will draw interest, and the real question is whether a club will pay up for a catcher who was in the middle of MVP chatter only a few months ago.
For Oakland, the timing matters. Langeliers has boosted his value dramatically during the 2026 season, which means any extension talk would be expensive.
He is also represented by Scott Boras, which only makes the situation tougher for the Athletics. Boras clients often end up testing free agency instead of settling into long-term deals during arbitration, and that reality makes a trade feel more plausible.
The numbers behind Langeliers’ season tell the same story. Since May 1, he is batting .218 with a .714 OPS.
Before that stretch, he was at .328 with a .974 OPS. That downturn has been part of the broader offensive slide that has helped drag the Athletics into their current skid.
If the A’s do decide to move him, they may not want to wait long. His value is still strong, but the longer they hold, the more the return could shrink. A deal near the deadline could mean a weaker package than they’d get right now, and with the team’s situation changing fast, the front office may need to act before that window closes.
In Other News...
As Draft Class Sends A Clear Message About Their Future
The Athletics draft class sent a pretty clear signal about where the organization wants to go next. Over 20 rounds, they took 21 players and leaned hard into the college route, using 11 of those picks on pitchers while spending nearly their entire signing bonus pool on collegiate talent. It was a class built for a faster path to the majors, with Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress going in the first round and left-hander Mason Edwards coming off the board in the second.
The pattern held well beyond the top of the board. Oakland did not get to its first high school player until the 14th round, which says plenty about the priority placed on experience and polish over long-term projection. For a club trying to stock a system with players who can move quickly, the draft looked less like a lottery ticket and more like a deliberate roster-building exercise, even if the real payoff will take time to show up. [Read more 🡒]
Athletics Just Made A Desperate Move For Injured Lineup Help
The second half has opened in rough shape for Oakland, with a nine-game losing streak and 17 losses in the last 20 games pushing the club into obvious damage-control mode. After firing pitching coach Scott Emerson in the wake of the staffs struggles, the Athletics are now trying to stabilize the roster in a different way, turning to former Angels infielder Donovan Walton as they look for any kind of help while injuries keep thinning out the lineup.
Walton brings some offensive upside at a time when Oakland can use it, even if the fit is not clean on the defensive side. He can move around the infield, but his glove has long been the question, and the As still have to sort out how quickly he might be available once the break ends and whether he can give them enough at the plate to matter in a stretch like this. [Read more 🡒]