Jonah

Heim

Langeliers launches two homers on his wife’s birthday on Saturday before she gave birth to their first child on Sunday morning. The 28-year-old slugging backstop is going to take some time away from the club to be with his family for the next couple days while Austin Wynns and newly acquired Jonah Heim handle the catching duties.

The Athletics are undoubtedly very familiar with Heim’s work since he began his career with the club before becoming the starting backstop for the division-rival Rangers. The 30-year-old heads out to West Sacramento after being removed from Atlanta’s 40-man roster earlier on Monday. He’ll provide the Athletics with some additional depth behind Austin Wynns while Shea Langeliers is away on paternity leave for a couple days this week.

There’s no longer a role for Heim with Atlanta now that Sean Murphy is back from the injured list. The 30-year-old backstop departs after going 2-for-5 with a homer and five RBI during Sunday’s slugfest at Coors Field. He went 9-for-39) with one homer and eight RBI in 12 games with the club.

That’s great timing from Heim in what is probably the Braves’ final game before Sean Murphy is activated. He entered the day with seven hits and three RBI in 40 plate appearances this season. The Braves wouldn’t seem to need three catchers, especially since Murphy probably won’t be seeing all that much time at DH with Dominic Smith performing well there. Still, they’ll probably keep Heim for now and perhaps look to trade him before Ronald Acuña Jr. or Ha-Seong Kim returns.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman says it’s worth $1.25 million. With Sean Murphy expected to miss time to open the season, the Braves needed to add quality depth behind the plate and they do so by picking up the best option that was still available on the open market. Heim should begin the season as the backup to Drake Baldwin, though he’s unlikely to see enough playing time to gain relevancy from a fantasy perspective.

Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com notes that it will be a one-year, major league contract. No word yet on the financial terms of the deal. Heim slashed just .213/.271/.332 with 11 homers and 43 RBI in 433 plate appearances with the Rangers in 2025. With Sean Murphy expected to be sidelined until May, Heim could break camp with the Braves as the primary backup behind Drake Baldwin.

Heim was a big part of the success of the Rangers in 2023 while helping the club win their first World Series, but he hasn’t had much success since and was usurped by Kyle Higashioka behind the plate. The 30-year-old will likely see interest as a backup backstop on the open market.

García has been battling injuries the last few seasons and is entering the final year of his contract. He hit .227/.271/.394 last season with 19 home runs and 13 steals. His power production and batting average have fallen off from his 2023 high, and Jonah Heim also regressed back down to earth after his outstanding 2023 season. Passan notes that both of them could be non-tendered if a deal is not made.

Heim had gotten the day off Tuesday but stepped in as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and slugged a two-run homer off Enyel De Los Santos to cut into the Astros’ lead. He then added a base hit with two outs in the ninth. The 30-year-old backstop is up to 11 homers and 43 RBI while slashing .219/.278/.345 across 411 plate appearances.

Higashioka is dealing with a minor hamstring injury. It’ll be Jonah Heim continuing to handle the catching duties.