A's to be Without Big Bat

The Athletics have gone just 2-20 in their past 22 games, and on Friday their task to turn things around just got a bit tougher. The team announced ahead of their series-opener against the Baltimore Orioles that catcher Shea Langeliers has been placed on the IL.

Backup backstop Willie MacIver will get the first crack in the A's lineup, batting eighth on Friday night against the O's. With Langeliers headed to the IL, the A's have called up Jhonny Pereda, who served as the club's backup catcher to begin the season, but was optioned to Triple-A two weeks back amidst a slew of moves that saw MacIver get the call for the first time in his career.

This season Langeliers is batting .237 with a .300 OBP, both of which are a little higher than in past seasons. He's also slugged 10 home runs in 56 games and holds a 104 wRC+ (100 is league average). His power stroke hasn't been quite as prevalent as in past years, but he's still be a solid contributor to the lineup and has been going the other way a bit more.

Thanks to his opposite field approach, Langeliers has also dropped his strikeout rate from 27.2% last season to 18.7% this year. The league average is 22%.

It should also be noted that the expected stats are high on Langeliers' new approach, with the catcher holding an expected batting average of .262. The biggest difference has been his launch angle, which has slipped from 16.3 degrees last season to 11.6 this year. That difference has led to more hits, but they've been line drives instead of towering home runs.

On the other side of the coin, MacIver has been the starting catcher in the A's past two wins. That is more coincidence that science, but it could present some hope that the team won't take a huge step back offensively. MacIver has gone 4-for-13 (.308) in limited opportunities with the club.

The Athletics also announced that they have designated former Los Angeles Dodgers minor leaguer Drew Avans for assignment, and have added 32-year-old Seth Brown, who was DFA'd himself just a couple of weeks ago. In 52 at-bats this season, Brown had gone 11-for-52 (.212) with a .328 OBP and one home run.

Since his demotion, Brown took off, very similar to how his season went last year when he was DFA'd. In nine games with Triple-A Las Vegas, the outfielder went 21-for-42 (yes, .500) with a .512 on-base and smacked seven home runs while driving in 13 RBI.

Brown will likely serve the same role that Avans had held, as a fourth or fifth outfield option. In his previous stint with the club, Brown had also patrolled centerfield in place of the struggling JJ Bleday at times, but with the addition of defensive star Denzel Clarke, that may not be an option.

Bleday is getting the start in left field on Friday night against Baltimore.