How will this impact Daniel Susac?
For a position that is as locked down as catcher on the A’s roster, there has certainly been a lot of movement behind the dish for the franchise this offseason. Shea Langeliers will be serving as the team’s full-time backstop yet again in 2026, but there has been a rotating cast of characters behind him.
Willie MacIver, who spent a decent chunk of the season as Lang’s backup, has been claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers this winter, while the club decided to hold onto veteran catcher Austin Wynns.
The A’s also decided to leave former first-round pick, catcher Daniel Susac, off the 40-man roster this week, leaving him exposed during the Rule 5 Draft next month.
Now, Martín Gallegos is reporting that former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Abrahan Gutierrez has signed a minor-league deal with the A’s. Gutierrez, 26, hails from Venezuela and was originally signed by the Atlanta Braves back in 2016, but had to be given up after Major League Baseball’s investigation into the organization’s international signing practices.
He then signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he’d stay until 2021 when he was traded to the Pirates for Braeden Ogle.
Over the past three seasons he has managed to play in just 134 total games, including 32 this past season. 28 of those games were at the Triple-A level, where he hit .250 with a .333 OBP, one home run, five RBI, and struck out 21 times in 99 plate appearances.
The last time he was fairly healthy for a season in 2022, he played in 108 games in Hi-A and hit a career-high 12 home runs. Since then, he has topped out at 53 games played in a single season.
Given that the A’s left Susac unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft, some may see this signing as potential competition for that spot on the roster, but assuming Susac makes it through next month’s draft without being selected, the duo is much more likely to serve as a tandem behind the plate, with Susac getting the majority of the playing time.
The A’s have to be thinking that Susac, a catcher, goes un-drafted next month. While it’s disappointing that he wasn’t directly added to the 40-man roster, the signings of Gutierrez and Wynns as the other catching options for the A’s don’t exactly pose the biggest barrier to Susac’s name getting called if he’s performing.
When Susac makes his A’s debut could ultimately be up to him.
