The A’s made a roster move on Thursday morning before their series finale against the Phillies. The team has activated starting catcher Shea Langeliers from the paternity list and designating backup Austin Wynns for assignment to make room for his return:
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We have made the following roster move. pic.twitter.com/DxJdIZB0bu
— Athletics (@Athletics) May 7, 2026
The return of Langeliers should provide the A’s with a critical bat back in the lineup. The team only managed to score four runs in the two games he missed due to the birth of his first child and will be glad to welcome him back into the starting nine. He’s been one of the best hitters in the Athletics’ lineup and all of baseball so far as he’s slashing .336/.390/.627 with 10 long balls and an MLB-leading 45 hits.
As for Wynns, this may mark the end of his time with the organization. Originally acquired last summer in a minor trade with the Cincinnati Reds, Wynns provided the A’s with a veteran back stop for the past calendar year. He never really hit well in his brief playing time but he was especially helpless in the batter’s box this year, going 3-for-43 with zero home runs or RBI’s. That was evidently just too poor of a performance with the stick to keep him around.
Wynns is signed to a guaranteed $1.1 million deal for this year so any team that claims him would take on that contract for the rest of the year. If he goes unclaimed Wynns, a longtime veteran, can reject an assignment to Triple-A and hit free agency without giving up his guaranteed money. The A’s are likely stuck paying him the rest of that deal. The A’s would love to keep him in the system as depth but Wynns will likely find another opportunity somewhere else. Plenty of teams around the league would value a veteran catcher with his defense.
This means that the newly-acquired Jonah Heim is the new official backup to Langeliers. Acquired for cash just days ago, Heim provides more upside than Wynns. He’s younger, a former All-Star, Gold Glover and World Series winner that bats from both sides of the plate. It’s a full circle moment for the former Athletics prospect, who was sent to Texas in exchange for Elvis Andrus years ago. He went 0-for-4 in his Athletics debut last night but the team clearly believes that Heim is the better option backup to Langeliers at this moment in time.