A's Notes: Expect Shea Langeliers' Return This Weekend

The Athletics have been dealing with a plethora of injuries to key players over the past couple of months, but this weekend could see a change in those fortunes with the return of Shea Langeliers.

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The A's catcher went out on a rehab assignment on Thursday, joining the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators, and on Friday manager Mark Kotsay told reporters before the game there is an outside chance he could join the team this weekend. He had previously been expected to rejoin the team on the upcoming road trip. 

Kotsay also made his weekly appearance on A's Cast on Friday, where he was a little more adamant about that timeline.

"Shea seems to be a really good healer," Kotsay said. "Expect to see Shea this weekend." 

That is a slightly different tone than the "outside chance" he said in the A's dugout. 

In two rehab games so far, Langeliers went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles as the Las Vegas DH. While he may be cleared to return to the A's roster this weekend, Langeliers will not be doing any of the catching work to finish out the season. Instead, he will be serving as the club's DH to get him some end-of-season at-bats. 

Max Muncy has served as the A's DH in six of the last seven games, going 9-for-22 (.409) with two home runs, four RBI, and three runs in that span. He's been the A's best regular hitter in that span. One way this could work out would be to have Langeliers at DH, Muncy at third base, and Zack Gelof sliding back to left field for the final two weeks.

J.T. Ginn's Status

One of the best stories of the A's season, J.T. Ginn, has been dealing with a right elbow impingement in recent weeks. Due to the proximity to the end of the season, the hope for the right-hander right now is that he'll be able to throw a full bullpen, but it's "highly doubtful" he makes another start for the A's this season, according to Kotsay. 

In a season of pitching woes, Ginn went 9-8 with a 3.71 ERA, finding success both at home (3.80 ERA) and on the road (3.63 ERA). 

Some of the metrics that have driven his success — like a high ground ball rate, well above-average extension, and limited exit velocities — are attributes the A's have been targeting with recent additions as well — primarily in the bullpen.

With Ginn's breakout this season, the A's will be starting from a better position when the 2027 season rolls around. 

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