Shea Langeliers

Manny Pina Visiting Wrist Specialist

By Anthony Franco | March 16, 2023 at 8:58pm CDT

Earlier this week, the Athletics announced that veteran catcher Manny Piña was uncertain for Opening Day after experiencing discomfort in his left wrist. It was an alarming development considering Piña lost almost all of last season after suffering ligament and cartilage damage in the joint that required surgery.

This afternoon, Oakland informed reporters that Piña was headed for evaluation with the specialist who performed last May’s procedure (relayed by Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). The club is still awaiting the results of that examination and doesn’t have a timetable for Piña’s return.

The A’s haven’t officially announced that Piña will start the season on the injured list but it seems likely with Opening Day two weeks out. If that proves to be the case, the club will have to make a roster move. Shea Langeliers is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. A Piña injury would necessitate an addition.

That could be one of the non-roster backstops in Spring Training. Yohel Pozo, who played 21 MLB games with the Rangers two seasons ago, is in camp on a minor league deal. Oakland also invited minor leaguers Kyle McCann, Tyler Soderstrom and last year’s first-round selection Daniel Susac to Spring Training.

Susac certainly isn’t in consideration for an MLB job. McCann, a fourth-round pick in 2019, played most of last season with Double-A Midland. Soderstrom, Oakland’s first-round pick out of high school in 2021, traversed three levels last year. The 21-year-old mashed over 89 games for High-A Lansing, continued to perform well in Midland, and secured a late-season cup of coffee with Triple-A Las Vegas. He’s now regarded by most evaluators as the top prospect in the organization.

Given Soderstrom’s youth and questions about his defense, it seems likely he’ll head back to Vegas to open the season. Still, Oakland general manager David Forst suggested this week there’s at least a small window for either of Soderstrom or third base prospect Zack Gelof to take a big league job — if not out of camp, then at some point this year (link via Martín Gallegos of MLB.com).

“Anything can happen,” Forst said. “Those guys have performed in Triple-A. They’ve played in the Fall League. They’re here getting starts in Major League games, so I think it would follow that you hope their opportunity to contribute comes this year at some point.” Gelof is also a 2021 draftee, though he was selected out of college and is two years older than Soderstrom. The Virginia product hit .271/.356/.438 in 87 Double-A games before a late-season bump to Triple-A.

The A’s have a number of options at third base if they wish to get Gelof more developmental work. Sending Soderstrom to Las Vegas, which still seems the likeliest move, would clear a path for Pozo or McCann to crack the roster as Langeliers’ backup if Piña misses time. It’s also possible the front office looks outside the organization as Opening Day draws nearer.

There are a number of non-roster players with other clubs who’ll be made available if they don’t break camp with their current team. The Guardians, for instance, have each of Meibrys Viloria, Cam Gallagher and Zack Collins in camp battling for the chance to back up Mike Zunino. At least one of those players won’t make the roster and could get to explore other opportunities. The Angels have two catchers who can’t be optioned, Max Stassi and Matt Thaiss, competing for jobs with top prospect Logan O’Hoppe and non-roster veteran Chad Wallach. Those are just two examples of organizations whose depth could get squeezed once roster decisions have to be made later this month.

Guardians Showing Continued Interest In Sean Murphy

By Anthony Franco | November 30, 2022 at 7:08pm CDT

The Guardians are among the teams in discussions with the A’s about Sean Murphy, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com (on Twitter). The backstop is one of the more frequent trade targets of the offseason, and Morosi suggests Oakland could complete a deal by the end of the Winter Meetings next week.

Murphy is of interest to virtually every team seeking catching help. He has been a quality hitter throughout his three-plus seasons in the big leagues, showing solid power and plate discipline with roughly average bat-to-ball skills. Murphy tallied a career-high 612 plate appearances this past season, hitting .250/.332/.426 with 18 home runs and a personal-low 20.3% strikeout rate.

While that may not be an eye-popping slash line at first glance, it marked well above-average production once one accounts for the depressed offensive environment around the game and Oakland’s pitcher-friendly home ballpark. By measure of wRC+, Murphy was 22 percentage points better than the average batter. Those numbers look even better when comparing Murphy to his peers behind the plate. Catchers overall mustered a putrid .228/.295/.368 line in 2022. Murphy ranked seventh at the position (among those with 300+ plate appearances) in on-base percentage and finished tenth in slugging.

In addition to that quality performance at the dish, the Wright State product is regarded as an excellent defensive backstop. Statcast consistently pegs him as an above-average pitch framer. The possibility for an electronic strike zone in 2024 or beyond could take pitch framing out of the sport, but Murphy also possesses an elite arm. He cut down 31.1% of attempted basestealers, well above the 25% league mark. Statcast credited him with a 1.89 second pop time (average time to throw to second base), the fourth-best mark among 72 catchers with 10+ throws. He was only charged with two passed balls despite playing more than 1000 innings behind the dish, a workload that trailed only that of J.T. Realmuto.

Murphy’s well-rounded game makes him one of the sport’s better catchers, and his trade appeal is only enhanced by his affordability. He’s eligible for arbitration for three more seasons, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.5MM salary in 2023. The 28-year-old will earn successive boosts over the next couple years, but his arbitration salaries will remain well below his open market value if he continues to perform at his recent level.

That window of affordable control means the A’s aren’t under urgent contractual or financial pressure to move him. However, Oakland also looks at least a year away from being able to contend for a Wild Card spot. The A’s tore down their roster over the 2021-22 offseason to cut costs, and they finished 2022 with an AL-worst 60-102 record. Murphy’s trade value will only dwindle alongside his remaining window of club control, and the A’s could seize the opportunity to move him for a massive return in the coming weeks or months.

Doing so would allow the A’s to give a full season of catching reps to top prospect Shea Langeliers. Acquired from the Braves in the Matt Olson trade last spring, Langeliers hit .283/.366/.510 through 92 games with Triple-A Las Vegas. He showed some power but also concerning strikeout and walk numbers in his first big league look late in the season. The former top ten draftee is regarded as a possible plus defender in his own right, and while the A’s could theoretically have Murphy and Lanegliers split catching and designated hitter duties, doing so would negate the defensive value of one of those players each game.

Cleveland places a premium on catcher defense, having turned primarily to Austin Hedges over the past few seasons. Hedges rivals Murphy defensively but offers virtually nothing with the bat. He’s coming off a .163/.241/.248 line and hit free agency at the end of the season. Cleveland could certainly look to bring him back, but acquiring Murphy would keep the club’s excellent defense intact while adding a possible middle-of-the-order bat. Murphy has even platoon numbers over the course of his career, but his right-handed bat would be an ancillary bonus for a Cleveland lineup that skews left-handed. The Guardians had a .646 OPS against southpaws this past season, a mark that topped only those of the Marlins and A’s.

As things currently stand, the only catchers on Cleveland’s 40-man roster are Bo Naylor and Bryan Lavastida. Each player made his MLB debut in 2022 and they have a combined 11 games of big league experience. Lavastida had a rough offensive showing in the upper minors and could fit better as a depth option.

Naylor, who turns 23 in February, is a more highly-regarded prospect who’s coming off a .257/.366/.514 line in 66 games at Triple-A Columbus. He could be a regular, but prospect evaluators have raised some concerns about his defense. At the very least, adding a veteran complement to that duo will be on the to-do list for president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and his staff. The Guardians could look to experiment with Naylor at other positions if they pull off a Murphy trade, and there’s also the possibility Cleveland includes him as part of the package they’re dangling to the A’s.

Big Hype Prospects: Alvarez, Baty, Crow-Armstrong, Langeliers, Bello

By Brad Johnson | August 26, 2022 at 6:40pm CDT

Julio Rodriguez is on the verge of a massive contract extension. Who will be the next prospect to ink a mega-deal? Today’s Big Hype Prospects won’t answer that question, but it’s possible we’ll discuss them all the same.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Francisco Alvarez, 20, C, NYM (AAA)
141 PA, 6 HR, .180/.340/.378

Despite the triumphant return of Jacob deGrom, the Mets divisional aspirations are endangered. Their once dominant lead over the Braves has dwindled to just two games. The club has received exactly 0.0 WAR from their catchers. Alvarez, whose combination of discipline and rare raw power can lead to some irresponsible comps (like former Met Mike Piazza), has held his own at Triple-A. The low batting average is the result of an unfortunate .209 BABIP. Low BABIPs in the minors can be symptomatic of a flaw. Sometimes, they’re just bad luck over a small sample. Alvarez had similar issues in High-A last season (.260 BABIP) so it’s possible his plodding speed and pull-heavy approach might yield an all-or-nothing slugger, especially early in his career. Defensive reviews are mixed and can sometimes leave a Gary Sanchez-like taste on the tongue. He has the capacity and work ethic to stick at the position, but maybe his bat is too potent to subject to the rigors of battery work?

Alvarez would certainly upgrade the Mets lineup over the likes of James McCann and Tomas Nido. However, they’re both talented defenders who have experience with the Mets pitching staff. If New York wants to experiment with Alvarez ahead of the postseason, now is the time to do it.

Brett Baty, 22, 3B, NYM (MLB)
35 PA, 1 HR, .161/.235/.258

Baty’s first exposure to Major League pitching hasn’t exactly gone according to plan. He had only 26 successful plate appearances at Triple-A before he was called upon. Much of his season was spent in Double-A where he hit .312/.406/.544 in 394 plate appearances. Baty is a disciplined hitter who makes hard, low-angle contact. With 91-mph average and 113-mph max exit velocities, he’s already demonstrated his power in just 24 batted ball events. His tendency to keep the ball on the ground could yield a contact profile something like a less-extreme Yandy Diaz. Whereas Diaz is nigh immune to strikeouts, Baty has a bit of swing-and-miss in his game.

Eduardo Escobar is nearing a return which could spell the end of the Baty experiment – at least for 2022. It’s also worth noting that his struggles have occurred over just nine games. He wouldn’t be the first player to need a couple beats before catching his stride.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, 20, OF, CHC (A+)
235 PA, 9 HR, 16 SB, .286/.332/.521

Known to many prospect-watchers by his initials “PCA,” Crow-Armstrong was acquired from the Mets as part of the Javier Baez trade in 2021. The Cubs instigated a mechanical change to his swing which has led to above average pull-side power this season. Including a thorough stomping of Low-A pitchers, PCA has 16 home runs and 29 stolen bases across 418 total plate appearances. He’s a gifted center fielder who was originally expected to fit in the Majors as a defensive savant. The addition of power to his profile could unlock a star-level ceiling. There remain issues with his bat including elevated strikeout and swinging strike rates. He’s young for his level and showed better plate discipline in the past. Consider him a volatile work-in-progress who now appears likely to have a role as a future regular.

Shea Langeliers, 24, C, OAK (MLB)
36 PA, 2 HR, .294/.306/.647

A key component of the Matt Olson trade, Langeliers has made an impactful debut. He’s already popped two home runs, four doubles, and a triple in just nine games. That’s par for the course with Langeliers. He has middling plate discipline, plus power, and a below average feel for contact. When he does connect, it tends to be loud. His best trait is defense where he’s expected to be a comfortably positive contributor. The presence of Sean Murphy is only a temporary impediment – it’s widely assumed the veteran Athletic will be traded over the winter.

Brayan Bello, 23, SP, BOS (MLB)
22 IP, 9.00 K/9, 4.91 BB/9, 7.36 ERA

Recently returned from the injured list, Bello had his best big league outing against the division rival Blue Jays. He tossed five innings of two-run ball while compiling seven strikeouts. Bello has a four-pitch repertoire led by a bowling ball 96.5-mph sinker. He also has a slightly harder fastball he can locate up in the zone. A slider and frequently-used changeup round out his pitch mix. In 18 minor league appearances he posted 12.10 K/9, 3.40 BB/9, and a 2.34 ERA. His carrying trait is an over-60 percent ground ball rate which, if maintained, would rank second among qualified starters between southpaw Framber Valdez (67.5%) and right-hander Logan Webb (58.4%). Like many sinker specialists making their debuts, Bello has struggled with free passes. He got away with iffy command in the minors because his stuff played even when thrown down the pike. He’s liable to need an adjustment period in the Majors.

Five More

Mark Vientos, NYM (22): A possible alternative to Baty and Escobar, Vientos is red hot for the month of August. He’s batting .403/.448/.661 with four home runs in 67 plate appearances. He draws negative reviews for his third base defense and is in the process of switching over to first base. The bat appears as if it should play in the Majors at either position, though he might be a tad ordinary at the cold corner. He’s just shy of a 30 percent strikeout rate for a second consecutive season in the upper-minors.

Grayson Rodriguez, BAL (22): Rodriguez has been sidelined for nearly three months with a lat strain. He is due to face hitters in a simulated game later this week. It’s possible he could make his debut in late-September.

Gunnar Henderson, BAL (21): Rumors abound of an impending callup for Henderson. Club officials are supposedly pondering the implications on his development. Henderson hasn’t exactly knocked down doors in August, batting .259/.364/.435 with 12.1 percent walk and 31.3 percent strikeout rates.

Robert Hassell III, WSH (21): One of the prizes acquired for Juan Soto, the Nationals aggressively promoted Hassell to Double-A where he’s hit .147/.237/.206 through his first eight games. Like Baty above, it’s not uncommon for young players to scuffle when first presented with a new challenge. And even Mike Trout has eight-game slumps. Strikeouts have been an issue for Hassell since joining the Nats org.

Curtis Mead, TB, (21): Recently recovered from a month-long injury to his elbow, Mead has five hits and two walks over 14 plate appearances. The right-handed slugger could make a useful platoonmate with David Peralta, especially once rosters expand in a few days. He’s Rule 5 eligible this winter so getting a jump on his service clock should be seen as acceptable – assuming the Rays can find a 40-man spot. He’s hitting .299/.391/.536 on the year, mostly at Double-A.

A’s Promote Shea Langeliers, Release Stephen Piscotty

By Anthony Franco | August 16, 2022 at 10:48am CDT

The A’s announced they’ve selected the contract of top catching prospect Shea Langeliers. The club also recalled David MacKinnon from Triple-A Las Vegas. In corresponding moves, Oakland placed Ramón Laureano on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 15, with a left oblique strain, and released outfielder Stephen Piscotty.

It’s a notable shakeup for the A’s, who’ll get their first look at a player they hope to be a key piece of the future. Langeliers was one of four players Oakland received from the Braves in the Matt Olson trade this spring. Arguably the headliner of the deal, the righty-hitting backstop is regarded by most prospect evaluators as a potential above-average regular behind the dish.

The ninth overall pick in the 2019 draft, Langeliers has spent the past three years progressing up the minor league ladder. He got off to a somewhat slow start late in his first pro season — not too surprising for a catcher logging the most action in any year of his career. The following minor league season was wiped out by the pandemic, and Atlanta pushed the Baylor product to Double-A to start 2021. Langeliers spent virtually the entire year there, putting up an impressive .258/.338/.498 line with 22 home runs in 92 games in a pitcher-friendly environment.

That would’ve been quality power production for any player, but it’s particularly impressive for a highly-regarded defensive catcher. Langeliers fits that bill. Most evaluators peg him as at least an average receiver, and he draws unanimous praise for his arm strength. Each of FanGraphs, Keith Law of the Athletic, Baseball America and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN placed him among the back half of their top 100 overall prospects heading into the 2022 season, and the A’s acquired him as part of their Spring Training teardown.

Langeliers has continued to impress in his new organization. He’s spent the year in Triple-A, his first extended stretch there after a brief cameo late last season. Over 402 plate appearances, the 24-year-old has hit 19 homers and posted a solid 10.7% walk percentage against a manageable 21.9% strikeout rate. Las Vegas is one of the more favorable environments in the affiliated ranks for hitters, but Langeliers’ .283/.366/.510 line is a strong showing even in that context. With nearly 200 upper minors games under his belt over the past two seasons, he had little left to prove before earning an MLB look.

The A’s would have had to add Langeliers to the 40-man roster this offseason to prevent him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. General manager David Forst indicated last week they were hoping to get him a look earlier than that, and he’ll presumably spend the final seven weeks of the season on the active roster. The club has been playing out the string in a brutal season, but Langeliers’ promotion will give the fanbase and organization a glimpse at a potential core piece for 2023 and beyond. BA recently named him the game’s #81 farmhand, while McDaniel pegs him as the second-best prospect in the organization.

First-year manager Mark Kotsay will be tasked with divvying up playing time between the rookie and incumbent backstop Sean Murphy. Oakland’s primary catcher is arguably the team’s best player. An elite defender with an above-average .244/.323/.422 showing at the dish, Murphy is one of the best catchers in the game. He’ll certainly remain in the lineup on most days, although Langeliers’ promotion could afford Murphy some additional quasi-rest work at first base or as a designated hitter. Langeliers himself figures to see some action at those spots as well.

That’ll at least be the temporary arrangement, but a solid showing from Langeliers during his first look at big league pitching would only ramp up speculation about Murphy’s long-term future. With Murphy controllable through 2025, the A’s certainly don’t have to deal him away next offseason. He’ll only be going through arbitration for the first time in the winter, and next year’s salary (while a notable raise over his pre-arb payouts) won’t be onerous — even for an Oakland club that’s likely to run one of the league’s lowest payrolls. Yet a significant portion of the value of each of Murphy and Langeliers lies in their defensive acumen behind the plate. That’s nowhere near as valuable at first base or DH, of course, so one could argue for the A’s to deal Murphy over the winter and turn to Langeliers on a regular basis in 2023. Murphy drew interest from teams like the Guardians and Red Sox before this summer’s trade deadline, and the A’s will certainly get plenty of calls about his availability once teams are again allowed to trade MLB players.

Langeliers’ promotion won’t have huge immediate ramifications from a service time perspective. Enough time has passed that he won’t accrue enough action to reach a full year of service or qualify for early arbitration after 2024 as a Super Two player. If he’s on the MLB roster for good, Langeliers would reach arb-eligibility after the 2025 campaign and would first hit free agency over the 2028-29 offseason. Oakland can option him back to the minors over the next few years, and any demotions could impact his service trajectory.

While the Langeliers call-up is the most significant news for the A’s as they look ahead to future seasons, the corresponding transaction subtracts a player who has spent almost five years with the team. The A’s acquired Piscotty, a Bay Area native and Stanford product, from the Cardinals heading into the 2018 season. The righty-hitting outfielder had broken into the majors with two excellent seasons to earn a $33.5MM contract extension from St. Louis leading into the 2017 campaign. He didn’t perform at the same level his final season in St. Louis, but the A’s took a shot on a bounceback (and brought Piscotty closer to his family as his mother battled ALS) in a trade at the end of that year.

Initially, the change of scenery seemed to work wonders for Piscotty’s career. He popped 27 longballs and put up a .267/.331/.491 line over 151 games during his first season in green and gold. At age 27, Piscotty looked to have rediscovered his early-career form and seemed poised to settle in as a middle-of-the-order bat for years to come. That unfortunately hasn’t played out, as he’s posted below-average numbers in all four years since then.

Going back to the start of 2019, Piscotty owns a .229/.287/.378 line in just shy of 900 plate appearances. He’s hitting .190/.252/.341 with a 34.5% strikeout rate over 42 games this year. He’s gotten just one start over the past eight days, as the club has increasingly turned to Laureano in right field while playing rookie Cal Stevenson in center. With Piscotty earning such sporadic playing time, the A’s have decided to move on entirely.

Piscotty will technically be available to the league’s 29 other teams via release waivers over the next couple days. Any team that claims him would assume the approximate $2MM remaining on his $7.25MM salary, as well as the $1MM buyout on a $15MM team option for next season. That makes it a certainty he’ll clear waivers, with the A’s remaining on the hook for the rest of that sum. Piscotty will be a free agent in the next few days, at which point he’ll have the right to explore other opportunities. If he signs elsewhere before September 1 — even on a minor league contract — he’d be eligible for a new team’s postseason roster.

Laureano, meanwhile, will now miss at least the next week and a half. The team hasn’t provided further specifics on his diagnosis, but it’s common for oblique strains to cost players upwards of a month of action. Laureano missed the first month of the season as he finished out a PED suspension handed down last summer. He’s returned to play in 84 games, hitting .223/.300/.395 with 12 homers while splitting his time between center and right field.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

A’s Notes: Langeliers, Honeywell, Rotation

By Anthony Franco | August 9, 2022 at 8:14am CDT

The A’s could welcome one of their top prospects to the big leagues before the 2022 season is out. General manager David Forst said on the club’s pregame show this evening that he anticipates Triple-A catcher Shea Langeliers will make his MLB debut over the next two months (h/t to Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle). “Shea’s done an outstanding job. … I hope to see him here, get him some (at-bats), some time behind the plate, and see what he can do sometime this season,” Forst said. Langeliers is not yet on the 40-man roster, but he’d have to be added early next offseason to keep him being taken in the Rule 5 draft.

One of four minor leaguers acquired from the Braves in the Matt Olson blockbuster, Langeliers was arguably the headlining piece of the return. The former No. 9 overall pick is a well-regarded defender, and he brings a fair bit of power potential offensively. The 24-year-old has spent the entire season at Triple-A Las Vegas, hitting .281/.362/.513 with 19 home runs across 381 plate appearances. The Pacific Coast League’s extreme hitter-friendly nature has no doubt aided that production, but Langeliers’ strong defense means he’d be a very valuable performer with even adequate production in the batter’s box. Baseball America recently ranked the Baylor product the No. 2 prospect in the Oakland system and the sport’s No. 84 farmhand overall.

Langerliers’ forthcoming arrival coincides with a down cycle for the A’s, who stripped down the roster and payroll over the offseason. They’ve fallen to the bottom of the American League as a result, and there’s been some speculation they could move primary backstop Sean Murphy as part of the organizational overhaul. Murphy, who is controllable through 2025, drew interest before last week’s trade deadline but ultimately remained in the Bay Area. It stands to reason his name will be floated in rumors again this winter.

Some more out of Oakland:

Right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. has yet to throw his first pitch as a member of the A’s. Acquired from the Rays last November, Honeywell suffered an olecranon stress reaction in his elbow during Spring Training. He’s spent the entire season on the injured list, but the club isn’t ruling out the possibility he makes a late-season return. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com tweets that Honeywell is likely to throw a simulated game this week. Skipper Mark Kotsay suggested the club hasn’t yet determined whether there’ll be enough time for the 27-year-old to build back as a starting pitcher this season. A former top prospect, Honeywell has only managed 4 1/3 career big league innings because of a brutal series of elbow injuries. He’s out of minor league option years, so he’ll have to stick on the major league roster once he’s healthy or be exposed to waivers.
The starting rotation is a broad area of uncertainty for the A’s, as Melissa Lockard of the Athletic explores. The trade that sent Frankie Montas to the Bronx subtracted the club’s highest-octane arm and dropped them to three rotation locks: Cole Irvin, Paul Blackburn and James Kaprielian. Among those competing for the final two spots are Zach Logue, Adam Oller, Adrián Martínez and Jared Koenig. All four hurlers have gotten at least five starts on the year, but they’ve each posted an ERA of 4.98 or higher with a well below-average strikeout rate. Lockard suggests that two of the pitchers acquired in the Montas deal — JP Sears and Ken Waldichuk — could factor into the big league rotation down the stretch. Sears started two of seven MLB appearances with the Yankees this season, his first taste of big league action. Waldichuk has yet to make his big league debut and isn’t yet on the 40-man roster, although he’ll have to be added this offseason. Both Sears and Waldichuk have started their organizational tenures in Las Vegas.

A Cheap And Controllable Catcher That Could Be Available At The Deadline

By Darragh McDonald | July 18, 2022 at 11:58pm CDT

On MLBTR’s recent list of trade candidates, the top name was a catcher, Willson Contreras. There are lots of reasons to expect he will be moved in the coming weeks, as he’s an impending free agent who is playing well for a bad team. There’s always the chance of the Cubs working out an extension to keep him, but based on the way Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo were all dealt last year, it seems reasonable to expect that Contreras is following them out of town.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently took a look at the potential fits, finding the Astros, Mets, Rays and Giants as the most likely, though listing plenty of other teams that make sense to some degree. Only one of them will get Contreras, however, leaving those other teams with issues behind the plate and having to consider other options. The only other catcher to crack MLBTR’s list was down at #41: Sean Murphy of the Athletics.

Though Contreras and Murphy are both catchers, there are many ways in which their situations are different. While Contreras is a rental and earning a $9.625MM salary this year, Murphy has yet to reach arbitration and still has three years of cheap control remaining. Contreras is also considered a bat-first catcher whereas Murphy has generally earned more praise for the defensive side of his game.

There are plenty of reasons for the A’s to hold onto Murphy, which is why he was so much lower on the MLBTR rankings than Contreras. Though the A’s have traded away many core players in the past year, those were guys who had come close to free agency and made themselves more expensive through arbitration. Murphy is still cheap and controllable, not to mention talented. He picked up a Gold Glove award last year for his excellent defense and was considered the third best catcher in the majors by the Fielding Bible Awards voting, behind Jacob Stallings and Austin Hedges. He’s also no slouch at the plate, with a career batting line of .229/.316/.423. That amounts to a wRC+ of 108, or 8% above league average. This year, his line is a smidge below that pace, coming in at .241/.308/.409, but that’s still a wRC+ of 106. His walk rate is a bit below his previous levels, but he’s also striking out less. That above-average batting line, when combined with his excellent defense, has allowed him to produce 2.3 wins above replacement on the year already, according to FanGraphs.

So, why even consider trading him then? For one thing, they could surely ask for a haul in return, given all those aforementioned attributes. There’s also the position of the team, who are currently 32-61, the worst record in the American League and ahead of only the Nationals among all teams in the majors. They’re certainly not competitive now and it’s hard to imagine them completely remaking themselves fast enough to suddenly become competitors again in 2023. Even if they feel 2024 is realistic, Murphy will be in his penultimate year of control by then, the same situation that players like Matt Olson and Matt Chapman were in when they were traded this offseason.

There’s also another factor to consider, which is that the A’s have one of the best catching prospects in baseball knocking on the door of the big leagues. Acquired in the Olson trade, Shea Langeliers is considered the #83 prospect in the sport by Baseball America, #52 by FanGraphs, #81 by ESPN, #80 by The Athletic and #31 by MLB Pipeline. Like Murphy, he is considered a glove-first catcher, but still hits at an above-average rate. This year, in 74 Triple-A games, he’s hit 16 home runs, stolen five bases and walked in 11.8% of his plate appearances. His batting line of .272/.364/.505 amounts to a 115 wRC+, or 15% above league average. He recently represented the American League in the 2022 Futures Game, earning MVP honors after hitting a home run and throwing out an attempted base stealer.

Langeliers is now 24 years old, turning 25 in the offseason. If the A’s were able to find an offer on Murphy that they liked, they could pull the trigger on a deal and let Langeliers have the final two months of the season to get acquainted with the big league pitching staff and life in the big leagues generally, going into the offseason with the torch already passed. The A’s reportedly considered dealing Murphy this past offseason, and that was before Langeliers had been acquired.

The club’s catching depth doesn’t stop there, as they also have Tyler Soderstrom in the system. He also shows up on all five of those aforementioned prospect lists, ahead of Langeliers in each case. However, there are some question marks there, as he is still just 20 years old, playing in High-A and predicted to move out from behind the plate down the line. (He’s played more first base than catcher this year.)

For a team looking to add a catcher, Murphy might be more appealing than Contreras due to his extra control. The Guardians, for instance, have Austin Hedges as their primary catcher right now. He is an impending free agent and is hitting just .172/.227/.270 this year. As a team that’s 2 1/2 games back of the Wild Card, they might not want to give up prospects for a rental like Contreras, and might also balk at his salary given their low-payroll ways. Acquiring Murphy, however, would allow them to upgrade on Hedges for a postseason push this year but also three more seasons. The Marlins recently acquired Jacob Stallings to be their backstop, though he’s having a terrible year at the plate and is turning 33 this winter. They’re 5 1/2 games out of the playoffs right now and would likely not be interested in rentals. The Twins recently put Ryan Jeffers on the IL and aren’t expecting him back for a couple of months. That leaves them with impending free agent Gary Sanchez as their primary catcher. Perhaps they’d consider a Sanchez-Murphy tandem now that leads into a Murphy-Jeffers pairing next year. Christian Vazquez is having a nice season for the Red Sox, but both he and backup Kevin Plawecki are heading into free agency in a few months. Acquiring Murphy could spare them worrying about their catching situation in an offseason when they might also lose J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and Nathan Eovaldi. They’re also just outside the playoffs right now, two games back, and would surely prefer non-rentals.

Murphy is in a little bit of trade candidate limbo right now, as the same things that make him appealing to other teams will make the A’s want to hang onto him. However, if some team steps up and places a striking offer in front of them, the presence of Langeliers could allow them to stay strong behind the plate while stockpiling talent for other areas of the roster. Given his three remaining years of control, they don’t have to make a trade between now and the August 2 deadline. They could wait until the offseason and take their time looking for the best deal. However, there might be other sellers who join them at that point, such as the Blue Jays, who will have to figure out their logjam of Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, Zack Collins and Gabriel Moreno. The emergence of William Contreras gives the Braves a future surplus, as they also have Travis d’Arnaud and Manny Pina under contract for next year. (Pina is out for the rest of this year, meaning it’s not an issue now.) Tom Murphy is also done for the year but has one season of team control remaining. Maybe the M’s consider moving him in the winter, as Cal Raleigh has taken over and is having a breakout campaign. There’s lots of uncertainty in that future, but for the next couple of weeks, the A’s have the best and perhaps only non-rental catcher available. Although they don’t have to make a deal in the coming days, it’s possible that it’s actually the best time.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Athletics Trade Matt Olson To Braves

By Steve Adams | March 14, 2022 at 1:20pm CDT

The Freddie Freeman era in Atlanta appears all but over. The Braves announced Monday that they’ve acquired All-Star first baseman Matt Olson from the Athletics in exchange for a hefty package of minor league talent: center fielder Cristian Pache, catcher Shea Langeliers and right-handers Ryan Cusick and Joey Estes. While some Atlanta fans may hold out hope that the implementation of the universal designated hitter leaves open the possibility for both Olson and Freeman to coexist on the same roster, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos implied otherwise when discussing the trade with reporters. Anthopoulos held back tears today, calling the Olson trade the hardest transaction he’s ever had to make — a clear allusion to the team’s plans for Freeman (or lack thereof).

As is the case with Anthopoulos, the acquisition of Olson will be a bittersweet one for many Braves fans. While Olson is an elite first baseman with Atlanta roots, it’s long been difficult to fathom Freeman, the 2020 National League MVP, ultimately moving on and signing with a new team. Freeman was a homegrown star in every sense of the word, going from No. 78 overall draft pick in 2007 to a five-time All-Star, league MVP and World Series champion. He’s spent the past 12 seasons in Atlanta, thanks in large part to an eight-year, $135MM contract extension that kept him in Braves gear long beyond his arbitration years. Freeman has become synonymous with the Braves, but it now appears all but certain that this is a changing of the guard.

As far as replacements for Freeman go, it’s tough to dream up a better option than the Atlanta-born Olson, however. Set to turn 28 later this month, Olson is a two-time Gold Glover at first base who just wrapped up a career year that netted him his first All-Star nod. Over the past three years, Olson has cemented himself as one of the premier power threats in the game, swatting 89 home runs and 65 doubles while playing his home games in the cavernous Oakland Coliseum. This past season, Olson shed the “strikeout-prone” label when he cut his strikeout rate from 27.5% in 2019-20 all the way down to 16.8%. He did so while maintaining an excellent 13.1% walk rate and turning in the finest overall season of his career: .271/.371/.540 with a career-high 39 home runs.

Of course, Olson is far more than your prototypical bat-first, slugging first baseman. He’s a two-time Gold Glove winner who happens to lead all Major League first basemen with 34 Defensive Runs Saved dating back to 2017 (despite playing in just 59 games that year). Olson’s 22.8 Ultimate Zone Rating is also tops among first basemen in that span, and his 15 Outs Above Average (per Statcast) rank sixth in that same span. There’s an argument to be made that bittersweet as the change might be for Braves fans, Freeman is being replaced by the most well-rounded, prime-aged first baseman in the game.

The Braves will control Olson for at least the next two seasons, as he’s currently sitting on four-plus years of Major League service time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $12MM salary for Olson this coming season, and he’ll be due one more raise on that sum before qualifying as a free agent after the 2023 season. Of course, the Braves could well look to sign Olson to a long-term deal that would keep him with his hometown club far longer than those remaining two years of control. Atlanta reportedly balked at going six or more years on a potential Freeman extension, but Olson is four and a half years younger than Freeman, which could alleviate concerns about an eventual decline in the late stages of a long-term deal.

Just as it’s difficult for the Braves’ faithful to process the change, Athletics fans are surely reeling from the news as well. While periodic sell-offs of this nature have become second nature for Oakland diehards, the current core is one of the more talented and recognizable groups in recent memory. Olson was a fan favorite and beloved player at the Coliseum, but his departure begins to pave the way for what the A’s hope will be its next core group.

Pache and Langeliers are the true headliners here, though all four prospects ranked among the top 15 or so in the Braves’ farm. Pache, 23, has seen his stock dip a bit since being ranked as baseball’s No. 7 prospect (per Baseball America) in the 2020-21 offseason. That’s due both to a poor showing at the plate in the big leagues and a fairly pedestrian output in Triple-A Gwinnett. Pache received just 68 big league plate appearances in ’21 and batted .111/.152/.206, though it’s tough to glean much of anything from such a small sample. His work in Triple-A was more encouraging but not on par with his strong 2019 campaign in Double-A; in 353 trips to the plate with Gwinnett this past season, Pache batted .265/.330/.414.

Offense has never been projected to be Pache’s primary selling point, however. That’s not to say he couldn’t develop into a solid big leaguer at the plate, of course, but much of his prospect allure has come from the fact that he’s a plus runner who received 80 grades for his defensive upside in the outfield. Considering the huge space he’ll now have to patrol at the Coliseum, that’s a particularly valuable skill to have. And, if Pache can turn in something close to his lifetime .280/.330./406 slash from the minor leagues, he ought to be able to solidify himself as a highly valuable big leaguer before long. Pache is still near universally regarded among the sport’s top 100 prospects.

Turning to the 24-year-old Langeliers, he’ll give the A’s another potential high-end catcher before long. Sean Murphy is the incumbent option there and had a fine season in ’21, but Langeliers was the No. 9 overall pick in 2019 and is fresh off a .256/.339/.494 showing between Double-A and a brief stop in Triple-A. Baseball America ranked Langeliers 54th among all prospects, calling him an excellent defender with a “cannon” arm and above-average power. That he reached Triple-A already in 2021, albeit only for five games, speaks to his proximity to the Majors. Langeliers also ranks as baseball’s No. 70 prospect at FanGraphs and No. 80 at The Athletic.

With Langeliers now perhaps the future behind the plate, Oakland will at least have the ability to more comfortably listen to offers on Murphy if they see fit. Murphy is controlled another four seasons and just won a Gold Glove while popping 17 home runs, but he’ll reach arbitration next year — around the time Langeliers is likely to be ready for an everyday audition at the big league level.

As for Cusick and Estes, both are well regarded in their own regard, even if they haven’t received the type of national attention that Pache and Langeliers have. Cusick was Atlanta’s first-round pick just last summer, joining the organization after posting huge strikeout totals during his sophomore and junior seasons at Wake Forest (37% overall). The 6’6″, 235-pound righty sits in the upper 90s with a heater that has touched 102 mph.

Command was an issue for Cusick in college, but in 16 1/3 innings with Low-A Augusta last season, Cusick punched out more than half of the 67 hitters he faced while issuing just four walks. It remains to be seen whether he can sustain those gains, but there’s huge potential if he can indeed refine his command. If not, a triple-digit fastball and this type of bat-missing ability will surely play up as a potential late-inning reliever. He was generally regarded among the system’s 10 best overall prospects.

As for the 20-year-old Estes, he was the Braves’ 16th-round selection in 2019 but has quickly elevated his profile. Drafted out Paraclete High School in Lancaster, Calif., Estes had a nondescript pro debut that lasted 10 innings in ’19, didn’t pitch due to the canceled 2020 minor league season and then broke out with a monster year as Cusick’s teammate in Low-A Augusta. Through 20 starts, a total of 99 innings, Estes notched a 2.91 ERA with a 32.1% strikeout rate and a 7.3% walk rate. He was an extreme fly-ball pitcher in 2021 (33.2% grounder rate), but that’s not a huge concern for the A’s, given their spacious home environs. Estes’ success came despite being nearly three years younger than the average competition he faced. While he and Cusick are both at least one, if not two full seasons away from making a big league impact, they both add some considerable upside to an Oakland system that was generally regarded among the thinnest in the sport.

“This is the cycle for the A’s,” Forst said back in early November when addressing reports of a likely payroll reduction. “We have to listen and be open to whatever comes out of this. This is our lot in Oakland until it’s not.” Those foreboding words have already manifested in the trade of two popular and productive A’s stars, and there’s little sense expecting that Oakland will put a foot on the brakes now. They’ve secured four new pitching prospects and a pair of ballyhooed close-to-the-Majors position players already (Pache, Langeliers), and things are likely just getting started.

As for the Braves, the acquisition of Olson will turn the page on perhaps the team’s most iconic player since Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. The 2020 MVP crowning for Freeman was a high note in his career, but the team’s storybook World Series run, with Freeman at the heart of the charge, will make an even more fitting end to this chapter in the team’s history. Olson will have major shoes to fill at Truist Park, but so long as he carries on at something near the .254/.348/.515 pace he’s tallied over his past 564 Major League games, the Braves will be in good hands.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported that trade and all five players involved (Twitter thread).

NL East Notes: Phillies, Zauzmer, Mets, Lefkowitz, Braves

By Mark Polishuk | January 19, 2022 at 2:36pm CDT

Earlier this offseason, the Mets denied the Phillies’ request to interview baseball analytics director Ben Zauzmer about Philadelphia’s assistant GM opening, SNY’s Andy Martino writes. The Phillies instead went with another young executive for the role, hiring 27-year-old Anirudh Kilambi away from the Rays.

Like Kilambi, Zauzmer is also young (29), has a background in analytics, and already has amassed an impressive resume early in his career in baseball. Zauzmer joined the Mets only last year after a six-year stint in the Dodgers’ analytics department, but quickly established himself as an important figure in New York’s front office. This resulted in Zauzmer getting an assistant GM job with the Mets themselves, as the team announced the promotion in late December.

Agency Changes: Ramirez, Langeliers

By Anthony Franco | December 8, 2019 at 12:59am CDT

We’ll wrap up this Saturday night with a couple agency changes around baseball. For a full listing of player/agent pairings, be sure to check out MLBTR’s Agency Database.

Angels’ right-hander Noé Ramirez has hired Steve Rath and Jeff Borris of Ballengee Group, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Ramirez, 29, is eligible for arbitration as a Super Two player this offseason. He’s projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz to earn $1MM. In 51 appearances (including seven “starts” as an opener) in 2019, Ramirez worked to a 3.99 ERA with a strong combination of strikeouts (28.2%) and walks (7.1%).
Braves’ catching prospect Shea Langeliers is now being represented by the Scott Boras Corporation, Heyman adds (via Twitter). Regarded as a strong defensive catcher, Langeliers overcame a hand injury to slash .308/.374/.530 in his junior season at Baylor. He wasn’t quite as productive in his first taste of pro ball, hitting just .255/.310/.343 over 239 plate appearances with the Braves’ Low-A affiliate in the second half. Slow start notwithstanding, the #9 overall pick in last year’s draft is among the game’s best catching prospects.

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