Who Will the A's Extend this Off-season?

Shea Langeliers has burst onto the scene in 2025, reaching completely new heights both offensively and defensively. The backstop struggled in 2023, but posted 22 homers in 448 at-bats. He'd follow that up with a nice 29 home run season in 2024, while posting a .739 OPS in 482 at-bats.

Heading into his fourth season in the big leagues, Langeliers made some adjustments with his approach, going the other way more often while still holding onto his home run swing.

Langeliers has proved himself to be one of the best hitters on this young A's squad, as heading into Friday night's affair against the Cincinnati Reds, Langeliers has launched 30 home runs and holds an impressive .850 OPS.

This season has really proved that Shea belongs at the top of the A's lineup, and is playing a premium defensive position in catcher, and he's been doing it pretty well.

Langeliers is above average in almost every defensive stat for catchers and is in the 91st percentile of catcher pop time. The backstop also possesses an 82nd percentile speed, which ranks among the best of all speedy catchers.

Being able to extend Langeliers to be the catcher of the future would be huge for the team, as you know what you're going to get with him. A power-hitting, speedy, reliable catcher that will help win important ballgames moving forward.

Nick Kurtz

The A's selected Kurtz with the fourth overall pick just last summer, and he's already worked his way through the farm system last fall and early on this spring to earn himself the big league promotion by the end of April.

The Wake Forest product has already appeared in 102 games with 364 at-bats and has posted a .302 batting average, his first 30-home run season, and an OPS of 1.023. Batting over .300 with an OPS over 1.000 and a 30-homer season is one of the most impressive feats any hitter can have in any given season, let alone his rookie season. This campaign puts him as a lock to win American League Rookie of the Year.

Kurtz has already drawn comparisons to Yankees' slugger Aaron Judge with his scary power, but also his ability to put together consistent quality at-bats, and always finds himself on base. As a polished all-around hitter in just his first season, the A's could look into giving him a nice extension this off-season.

Just because he doesn't have a ton of big league experience shouldn't scare the A's away from handing out a lengthy extension. Last off-season, Lawrence Butler earned a seven-year extension after just about a half-season in the big leagues.

If the A's can lock up Kurtz and Langeliers, the A's top of the lineup will not just be scary due to all of that power, but both are threats to crowd the bases and set up other hitters like Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, and Tyler Soderstrom.

Jacob Wilson

The A's had another Rookie of the Year favorite in the first half of this season, but ultimately he will finish behind Nick Kurtz when it's all said and done. Jacob Wilson, also just a rookie, is putting together an amazing season at another premium defensive position, and looks like the club's shortstop of the future.

Wilson served as the American League's starting shortstop during the All-Star game in Atlanta, and he made it in the less traditional way for A's players, by getting voted in as the starter.

The shortstop isn't done accomplishing impressive achievements this season, though. The shortstop is just a couple of batting average points behind Aaron Judge for the American League batting title, which is awarded to the highest batting average in the league. He currently holds a .319 AVG and an .810 OPS in 436 at-bats.

Because of Wilson's elite contact skills and ability to be clutch with runners in scoring position at such a young age, the A's will likely look at handing him an extension as well. Having your shortstop of the future under contract for many years to come would be very nice, as well as knowing you'll have a strong top-of-the-order bat for a long time.

Honorable Mentions: Jacob Lopez, Tyler Soderstrom

The A's will most likely look to extend their younger sluggers rather than some arms that could be replaceable at some point in free agency. However, Jacob Lopez has looked like a potential future star for the A's rotation, and could be in the topic of conversation for an extension.

Lopez was acquired alongside veteran southpaw Jeffrey Springs from the Tampa Bay Rays this past off-season. Now, the lefty draws Chris Sale comparisons, and is looking like a future rotation guy for the A's as they look to be competitive in future seasons.

The A's could also look to extend Tyler Soderstrom, who is yet another player having a breakout season. Soderstrom was drafted as a catcher in the first round just a few years ago, and with Langeliers serving as the A's catcher, he had to learn first base if he wanted big league playing time.

After playing a bunch of first base last season, the A's would make Soderstrom learn yet another position this season, as Nick Kurtz would be the A's first baseman. He would then pick up left field, and he's been doing a good job adjusting to the outfield.

Soderstrom's bat is too good to not plug him in somewhere in the field. The left-handed bat holds a .275 batting average with a .821 OPS and 24 home runs. Although his bat has been really good, the A's have a ton of depth in the outfield, not only in the big leagues but also throughout the upper levels of the farm system.

The A's view Soderstrom as a key piece to this club, with manager Mark Kotsay mentioning that his athleticism has been on full display in left field. Could he be on the move to yet another new position for 2026?

Overall, the A's have a ton of young talent, and their future is very bright. The club might only hand out one or two extensions, so not everyone on the list will earn one, but they all make their own cases to be locked up and be part of the competitive A's teams in the coming seasons.