Shea Langeliers is back in game action, as the Athletics’ All-Star kicked off a rehab stint with Triple-A Las Vegas tonight. He took three plate appearances as the designated hitter, going 2-3 with a double before being lifted for a pinch hitter. It’s the first game action since July 24 for Langeliers, who is working back from meniscus surgery on his right knee.

The A’s are hoping to get Langeliers back into big league contests before the end of the season. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com suggested earlier this week that he’d be a full-time DH, as the A’s aren’t going to put the added stress of catching on his knee. He’s made an encouraging enough return to hit and run the bases, and it’s possible he’ll accompany the A’s on their final road trip next week.

While the A’s aren’t in contention, it’d be nice for Langeliers to get a few at-bats and go into a more normal offseason. The team obviously isn’t going to push him if they feel there’s any real risk of aggravating the injury. Jonah Heim and Brian Serven can split the catching duties for the final couple weeks. Max Muncy has been getting the designated hitter work.

Langeliers topped 20 home runs for a fourth straight season despite missing almost two months. He’s a .254/.314/.494 hitter with 83 longballs in nearly 1500 plate appearances over the last three seasons. Langeliers is second among catchers (behind Cal Raleigh) in home runs over that stretch. His .808 OPS is the highest at the position among those with at least 750 PAs.

The A’s control Langeliers for two seasons beyond this one. He’s making $5.25MM and likely to see his salary climb into the $8-10MM range for his penultimate arbitration season. The A’s should get calls from catching-needy teams about the possibility of an offseason trade. They’ll have a new head of baseball operations after moving on from GM David Forst last month. They’re not likely to kick off another full rebuild in advance of their move to Las Vegas in 2028, however, and there’s no obvious successor in the farm system.

Elsewhere in the pipeline, pitching prospect Jamie Arnold was struck in the face by a comebacker during his Triple-A start on Tuesday. The ball had left the hitter’s bat at 107.5 mph and appeared to catch the southpaw on the left side of his head. Arnold incredibly remained on his feet but ran straight into the dugout and went to a hospital for further testing.

The A’s announced the next day that Arnold suffered intra-orbital (eye socket) and maxillary sinus fractures. The injuries are expected to heal without surgery, though the team declined to provide a timetable. It’ll obviously end his first minor league season. The 11th overall pick in last year’s draft, Arnold spent the bulk of the year at Double-A and pitched to a 3.57 ERA while striking out a quarter of opponents. He could get a look in the big league rotation at some point in 2027 — hopefully after a speedy recovery.