After the A's traded away Sean Murphy this off-season, it was apparent that Shea Langeliers would be the team's primary catcher in 2023. The A's also received veteran backstop Manny Piña, 35, in that deal, and he had been expected to be the backup to Langeliers behind the dish.
Last week Mark Kotsay told reporters that Piña would begin the season on the IL after a wrist specialist diagnosed him with inflammation in his surgically repaired left wrist, which has put the A's backup catcher spot up for grabs.
Yohel Pozo has been the likely front-runner for that spot, given that he has limited Major League experience and has played 142 games in Triple-A. Kyle McCann, the other top option, has played just seven games above Double-A. The main question as to who gets the job on the Opening Day roster could come down to how long PIña is expected to be out, and how ready the A's feel Pozo and McCann are.
That's where the signing of veteran catcher Carlos Pérez, who spent time in the A's system in 2020 and 2021, could come into play. In 97 games with the Aviators in 2021 he hit .269 with a .337 OBP, hit 31 homers, drove in 89, walked 8.1% of the time, and struck out at just a 15% clip.
While Pérez hasn't played in the big leagues since 2018, he does have 212 games played at the level, though he never quite hit the same way at the big league level, batting a combined .215 with a .257 OBP and a .576 OPS.
The defining trait for who gets the backup spot could come down to defense, and to be fair, we don't have current metrics on any of the three catchers vying for that spot. But Pérez has experience, and that was at least part of the reason that Piña was included in the Murphy trade to begin with.
Shea Langeliers is going to be taking over the full-time catching duties for the first time this season, and having a veteran presence there alongside him may be the most important aspect to the A's. This is why I mentioned that the backup catcher could end up being someone from outside of the organization last week when I broke down the A's catcher situation. It may not be production that the A's are looking for from the backup backstop. It's someone to help guide Langeliers that can help his development into a bonafide big leaguer.
The A's decided to reassign top prospect Tyler Soderstrom, a catcher, because they didn't want to hinder his development, and it feels like that logic would track for whomever ends up sharing time with Langeliers.
Carlos Pérez is very much in the mix to be on the A's Opening Day roster. Pozo, McCann and Pérez are not on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move would have to be made to add any of them to the roster.
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