Which Budding A’s Star Will Get Paid Next?

As the starting catcher for the Athletics, Shea Langeliers stands to earn, arguably, the most lucrative extension. 

Langeliers was one of the best catchers in baseball last year. He hit .277/.325/.536 in 2025, good for an .861 OPS and 132 wRC+. The backstop also hit a career-best 31 home runs while striking out less than 20% of the time.

Some may point to the A’s playing in a smaller home ballpark as the reason for Langeliers’ improved slugging. However, it is important to note that Langeliers hit 29 homers the year prior while the club was still in Oakland.

As for his defense, Langeliers’ framing did not grade out very well, but he posted a 91st percentile pop time at an average of 1.89 seconds. He was also sneakily pretty quick, as he maintained a sprint speed in the 81st percentile in 2025. 

Overall, Langeliers is a complete player with impressive offensive capabilities. He has picked up right where he left off in 2026, hitting four homers in his first five games of the season. 

The Athletics would no doubt be thrilled to feature Langeliers in their lineup for years to come. However, the question remains whether he would be open to signing an extension – especially as a Scott Boras client. 

The A’s don’t have an obvious replacement for Langeliers waiting in the wings of their farm system. Langeliers still has three years of service time before free agency, but his asking price for an extension is likely to escalate quickly. 

The team could take care of this by making a bold offer now, securing their catcher of the future and solidifying Langeliers as one of the leaders of their squad moving forward. 

Luis Morales

On the pitching side of things, the A’s could move to extend Luis Morales, despite his short big league resume.

Morales ascended quickly through the minors en route to a very early MLB debut. The 22-year old took his opportunity and ran with it, posting a 3.14 ERA over 48.2 innings last year.

Over this span, Morales struck out 43 batters while walking 18. He allowed just a .211 batting average to opposing hitters. However, Morales has struggled with the long ball to start his career. He allowed 1.48 HR/9 in 2025 and gave up three home runs in his 2026 debut.

Still, Morales’ natural talent is hard to ignore. The 6-foot-3 righty features a wipeout sweeper and posted a 90th percentile fastball velocity in 2025. At just 22 years old, Morales has plenty of time to mature as a pitcher. He could be well worth an extension if he improves throughout this year.

The A’s will need a strong rotation to supplement their lineup in order to make their way back to contention. They have several rising pitching prospects in their system, but it wouldn’t hurt to start securing their rotation of the future.

With Morales seeing some early hiccups, the Athletics could gamble on a longer-term deal to buy out a year or two of free agency. This would allow them to potentially secure a frontline or middle-rotation starter at a lower premium.

This way, they could mitigate some of the potential financial risk associated with signing high-end free agents. Given his youth and relative inexperience, Morales still has to prove himself. That said, he makes an interesting case for a hypothetical pre-arbitration extension.

Nick Kurtz

This one should be obvious. Given his projectable power and incredible rookie campaign in 2025, the Athletics will surely make an effort to extend Nick Kurtz.

Unfortunately for the A’s, Kurtz makes for easily the biggest long shot of the bunch. The Athletics took Kurtz with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft, and the big lefty took off at full speed.

Kurtz played in just 33 total minor league games between 2024 and 2025. Over that span, he hit .344/.440/.712 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs. He also stole a base, for good measure. Given this, the A’s were compelled to give Kurtz a cup of coffee in the big leagues.

In response, Kurtz hit a whopping 36 home runs in just 117 games (roughly a 50-homer pace over 162). Overall, he slashed .290/.383/.619 on the year, walking a solid 12.9% of the time. His 30.9% strikeout rate was somewhat concerning, but his production easily outweighed that.

The 6-foot-5 lefty is barely 23 years old and will almost surely continue to unlock more power in the coming years. Knowing this, and projecting based on his rookie season, he would likely fetch a hefty contract on the open market.

This makes it all the more unlikely that Kurtz ends up signing an extension, though the possibility remains open. It was reported that Kurtz recently declined a longer-term proposal in the $130 million range. While he’s not a Boras client, Kurtz’s agency, Excel Sports Management, does not often engage in pre-arbitration agreements.

None of this makes it impossible for the Athletics to retain Kurtz’s services in the long-term. However, it does mean that they would have to fork over a substantial contract to secure his spot on the roster beyond 2031. 

Leo De Vries

Though he has yet to make his MLB debut, the Athletics could try to extend Leo De Vries. It would depend heavily on his performance this year, but it wouldn’t be out of the question.

The switch-hitting shortstop has immense upside and has been highly regarded since his signing in 2024. The San Diego Padres traded him to the Athletics in exchange for closer Mason Miller last year, and he has only gotten better since. 

De Vries finished out the 2025 season in Double-A and hit .281/.359/.551 over 103 plate appearances there. He has consistently showcased an elite ability to get on base in the minors, striking out around 21% of the time while walking upwards of 12% of the time. 

Still only 19 years old, De Vries has made waves among MLB prospect insiders for his toolsy makeup and advanced feel for the game. He also had a great spring training, as he slashed .426/.460/.723 over his 18 games played.

Clearly, De Vries would need to show a bit more before getting an extension offer. But players like Jackson Chourio, Colt Keith, and, most recently, Cooper Pratt have set the precedent for the possibility of a pre-debut extension. 

Of course, De Vries could very well wind up making his debut sometime this year. His excellent performance in the minors so far is a major outlier given his age. A strong early showing in 2026 could very well end up earning De Vries an early debut.

If De Vries pans out as the Athletics hope, securing an extra year or two of team control at a low price point would be more than worth it.