Athletics Superstar Leaves Game Early and Could Miss Time

Over these last few weeks, we've seen Zack Gelof lose his 24-game hitting streak after leaving in the second inning against the Giants with an injury.

The A's have also lost their star designated hitter, Brent Rooker, for the remainder of the 2026 season, as he will undergo knee surgery. Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom were also placed on the injured list in the same transaction.

Shea Langeliers Leaves Friday's Contest With a Thumb Injury

During Friday's contest at home against the Miami Marlins, the A's star backstop, Shea Langeliers, exited the game early.

The injury came as it appears Shea was crossed up by starter Jack Perkins. The ball went off the thumb of Langeliers, and he was removed for a pinch hitter, Jonah Heim.

We have talked about how Heim was going to fill in for Brent Rooker at DH, but now it looks like he'll have to be the team's everyday catcher until Shea Langeliers is ready to go again.

As of right now, it seems Langeliers has only a left thumb contusion, but he's set to undergo further testing. Sometimes we expect it just to be a contusion, and it ends up turning into long IL stints. Hopefully, he can just get a couple of rest days, then rejoin the team on Tuesday after their off-day.

Carlos Cortes Will Have to Step Up

As mentioned, Jonah Heim has been hot for the A's and was expected to fill the team's need at DH following the injury of Brent Rooker. Now that Shea Langeliers is out for an unknown length of time, Heim will have to serve as the everyday catcher, meaning someone else will have to be the designated hitter.

This means that the A's will likely have to rely on Carlos Cortes to be the designated hitter daily, even against left-handed pitching, which is something he rarely gets an opportunity to do. A really bad slump from Cortes had him hitless from mid-June until Friday's game.

He had a 2-hit game, which is a good sign for someone who is breaking out of a slump. We will see how the A's manage their current injury issue, but they are going to need Carlos Cortes to continue to produce if they want a chance to make a playoff push.