We might have ourselves a candidate for “most polarizing player on the big league roster”. Shea Langeliers comes with warts and yet he put up a pretty sensational 2025 season ranking as one of the AL’s best catchers.
A 1st round pick of the Atlanta Braves, Langeliers was a center piece in the trade that sent Matt Olson to Atlanta in 2022. The trade yielded busts in Cristian Pache and Ryan Cusick, and to a large degree Joey Estes, but Langeliers has been the A’s primary starting catcher since 2023 and has improved each season.
What Were The Expectations?
Expectations were pretty high given Langeliers’ 1st round pedigree. Interestingly, scouting reports suggested he was more of a “glove first” player, which is not how he evolved as a big leaguer. Langeliers showed great difficulty with both framing and blocking but also flashed big time power even though his BA and OBP were low.
2025 was a true breakout year for the A’s catcher. Defensively, he made impressive strides with his blocking and framing — both still need work but are solidly in the middle now rather than bottom of the barrel.
Meanwhile, the bat took off. Langeliers’ .277/.325/.536, 31 HR line was good for a 132 wRC+ and was buoyed by a stellar second half: after the All-Star break Shea hit a resounding .293/.330/.622 (.951 OPS) with 19 HRs in 57 games and a 155 wRC+. He absolutely mashed LHP all season: .367/.374/.667, 184 wRC+.
Langeliers struggled some with throwing errors but they were largely attributed to his pitchers failing to hold runners and the poor decision to make hurried throws anyway. When given a fighting chance he still showed a strong and accurate arm.
Entering his 4th full season, Langeliers is now cemented as the A’s primary backstop and is regarded as one of the better catchers in the AL — at a time when the position is generally weak and teams are envious of the A’s.
This will be Langeliers’ age 28 season and catchers tend to wear down earlier in their careers, so it remains to be seen how many years he can perform at a high level. But right now he is on a roll and following his breakout campaign, in 2026 we will see if Shea is done improving or has a higher peak yet than 2025’s 3.9 WAR season.