Shea Langeliers (23) of the Sacramento A’s and currently on the IL and out for the rest of the season gave it his all in 2026 and was voted the starting catcher for the American League during last month’s All Star Game in Philadelphia. Langeliers if he had not got injured might be playing for another team before the MLB trade deadline. (AP photo)
The Trade Frenzy is over, and the A’s Front Office was on Vacation
That’s Amaury News and Commentary
Amaury Pi-González
True, nobody was expecting the A’s to acquire pitcher Tarik Skubal from the Tigers, but they were as quiet as anybody that I can remember when it comes to an important trade deadline. (Tarik Skubal was born in Hayward) considered the most talented pitcher in the game, was acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers. I think Rob Manfred, the Commissioner, should give the World Series Trophy to the Dodgers by the end of this month; why wait?
The A’s are still a developing team. Catchers were in high demand. A’s All-Star catcher Shea Langeliers underwent a successful medial meniscectomy and PRP injection in Los Angeles on July 28, which is expected to end his 2026 season. I consider him the best all-around A’s player, one of the best catchers in baseball. Shea is having his best season, hitting .263 with 23 homeruns and 51 runs batted in. Defensively, his metrics are among the best for catchers.
As far as catchers go. I was very surprised that the Baltimore Orioles traded their great catcher, Adley Rutschman, to the Boston Red Sox. The Orioles made the postseason in 2024, and less than two years later, Rutschman became the best catcher traded this weekend.
Not long ago, Rutschman was considered the face of the Orioles franchise. Good catchers are usually not traded because once a catcher changes teams, he will have to learn how to receive and work with pitchers that he has never worked with. Although some great catchers were traded. Perhaps the best example was Gary Carter, a Hall of Fame catcher.
Carter was traded from the Montreal Expos to the New York Mets, but it was not during a trade deadline but months after the season ended, on December 10, 1984. I have followed the Orioles since I was a kid and was their ball boy and sometimes bat boy during the Orioles Spring Training in Miami, back in the day. In other words, since my teen years, the Orioles have been my first love in baseball and the team deep in my heart.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has been open for 87 years, established and dedicated in June 1939, and there are twenty (20) catchers inducted in Cooperstown.
Catching is the one position that takes a load mentally as well as physically, and then you have to guide your pitcher to execute the pitch you want; a catcher is like having another manager, but on the field.
The phrase “tools of ignorance” is most frequently credited to a major league catcher; according to some historical and baseball sources, it is attributed to fellow catcher Bill Dickey. But it was said because of all the gear that a catcher has to wear, it doesn’t take anything away from intelligence. And execution, directing the pitcher on every pitch he receives.
True that the A’s did not make any news in this trading cycle, but nobody really expected them to do much, maybe anything. They have other priorities; after all, this is a franchise in the middle of transition, not only players, but stadiums, cities, billionaires like Mark Cuban investing in the franchise; who knows, Cuban could own the A’s sooner than you think.
We get it: the A’s are not only a team not contending, 22 games under. 500 while owning penultimate place, but a team that still feels like they cannot keep up with the herd. The A’s have a very good young and aggressive lineup, but they forgot one very important side of the game: pitching, unless you are planning to win most games 15 to14.
Quote: The catcher is in the middle of everything. He sees it best. -Johnny Bench
Amaury Pi-Gonzalez – Cuban-born Pi-González is one of the pioneers of Spanish-language baseball play-by-play in America. Began as Oakland A’s Spanish-language voice in 1977 ending in 2024 (interrupted by stops with the Giants, Mariners and Angels). Voice of the Golden State Warriors from 1992 through 1998. 2010 inducted in the Bay Area Radio Hall of fame.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
