Athletics' Shea Langeliers Shines in First All-Star Game

Luckily, A's catcher Shea Langeliers was able to be the starting backstop for the American League, and he would get to catch the Blue Jays' ace, Dylan Cease.

The strong first inning from the Cease-Langeliers battery gave the AL early momentum and ultimately led to a 4-0 American League victory.

Langeliers' Strong All-Star Performance

In the first inning of the game, Shea Langeliers would face the tough Phillies southpaw, Cristopher Sanchez. Langeliers worked a four-pitch walk, and then Bobby Witt Jr. would also walk to set up an RBI single for Cody Bellinger.

Bellinger would go on to win the All-Star MVP, thanks to the light offensive contest and his clutch hit.

Langeliers then came on at the bottom of the inning and worked with Dylan Cease for a three-strikeout inning.

In the third inning, Langeliers served as the leadoff hitter and started the inning off with a nice single into center field. He had to get the hit off a very tough customer, the Cardinals' closer, Riley O'Brien.

The A's Need To Lock Up Langeliers

There has been a lot of discussion recently about whether or not the A's will hold onto the superstar catcher long-term. We've talked about how we could have already seen Langeliers play in his last game in an A's jersey.

However, it's going to be crucial for the A's to do anything in their power to hold onto him. It will be difficult to extend Langeliers, just because of his agent, Scott Boras. Boras prefers that his clients enter free agency rather than take extensions.

Finding elite offensive catchers who can also be valuable defensively is hard to come by. If the A's ever lost Langeliers, finding someone to replace his talent would be nearly impossible. He's a star hitter for the team, and he's also becoming one of the leaders for the young squad as well.

It's going to be tough to turn down the amazing offers the team will get for Langeliers before the trade deadline, but it's going to be crucial for the A's future to keep him.