The A's Should Consider Signing a Backup Catcher

With Shea Langeliers entrenched as the starting catcher and number one prospect Tyler Soderstrom making his big-league debut in 2023, it's not imperative that the A's sign a backup catcher this off-season. 

That said, Soderstrom struggled in his time in Oakland, batting .166 with a .232 OBP and a 35 wRC+ (100 is league average). He only got 138 plate appearances, and is still just 22 years old, so he is far from a finished product in Major League Baseball. The A's could go one of a couple ways here. 

The first would be to have him on the Opening Day roster, playing sparingly as the backup to Langeliers, a part-time DH, and also give him some looks at first base. You could argue that avenue is throwing quite a bit at him as he continues to adjust to MLB pitching. 

The other avenue would be to have Soderstrom begin the season in Triple-A and to bring aboard a veteran catcher like they did for the 2023 season as Soderstrom continued to develop. 

One player that could do a lot of good for the A's in 2024 would be Austin Hedges, who is currently a free agent. He isn't likely to break the bank as a defense-first backstop, which means that he would be in Oakland's price range, too. 

Hedges finished his age 30 season with a 24 wRC+, so he is not known for his bat. However, he is one of the best defensive catchers in the game. With the A's not expected to be very good for the third year in a row, bringing in Hedges could provide a boost to a pitching staff that ranked 29th in baseball in ERA this past season. 

Hedges ranked in the 90th percentile in blocks above average and in the 98th percentile in framing. A's pitchers could know that he would block a ball in the dirst and also have the ability to steal them some strikes, which would be a huge confidence boost on both fronts. If the team isn't expected to be very good in 2024, they may as well work on getting the pitching staff where they need to be for when that window of contention does finally open. 

Yes, keeping Soderstrom in the minors isn't ideal and he could use some reps in the Majors. However, he's not likely to be getting a ton of those to begin the season anyway. First base is claimed by Ryan Noda and the catcher position belongs to Langeliers. Unless the A's want to make Soderstrom a full-time DH at the age of 22, something they didn't want to do with Jordan Díaz, then regular at-bats are going to be hard to come by. 

Having Soderstrom DH would also clog up the team's outfield mix. Brent Rooker received a lot of playing time as the club's designated hitter last season, and if that spot is taken by Soderstrom, then he would need to be moved to the outfield to keep his bat in the lineup. If Rooker is roaming the outfield grass, then one of Seth Brown, JJ Bleday, Esteury Ruiz, Miguel Andújar, or Lawrence Butler would be on the bench fairly regularly, and another one of them would likely end up in the minors. 

The A's could move Noda, 27, since his value has shot up since being selected in the Rule 5 Draft last winter, which would open up regular playing time for Soderstrom at first, but Noda could be a solid hitter for this club for the next five seasons, too. Clearing a spot for Soderstrom will mean taking playing time away from someone else. 

Obviously you want Soderstrom to get the time to develop that he needs, and he not have much left to prove in Triple-A with the bat. The big question is going to be how good do the A's feel about his glove behind the dish, and how do they plan to find him regular playing time when he is deemed ready? 

In the meantime, the A's should add a veteran backstop this winter to give them someone with experience behind the dish to help the young pitching staff along in their development. It doesn't have to be Hedges, but it should be someone that is defensively minded.