Brian Serven, the Palm Desert High grad who has been a much traveled catcher bouncing around the Major Leagues for the last four years, may be ready to get a long look with his current team, the Athletics.
The team formerly known as the Oakland A's who currently play in Sacramento before moving to Vegas, called Serven up from the minor leagues Sunday, July 26, with the announcement that starting catcher All-Star Shea Langeliers is going on the injured list with a torn meniscus in his knee.
Serven, now 31 years old, is playing with his third Major League team since making his debut in 2022. He played 73 games for the Colorado Rockies in 2022 and 2023, then 28 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024. He was with the Detroit Tigers organization in 2025
but did not play in a Major League game. He signed as a free agent with the A's in December.
Serven played one game (going 1 for 4) for the A's back on July 5 when he was called up for a short stint, but this call-up feels like it will be more permanent as Langeliers is likely out for the rest of the season.
In 61 games for the Triple A Las Vegas Aviators this year, Serven was hitting .308 with nine homers and 46 RBIs.
Serven is one of five desert high school graduates currently on an MLB roster, joining Taylor Ward (Shadow Hills) with the Baltimore Orioles, Jeremiah Estrada (Palm Desert) with the San Diego Padres, Travis Adams (Palm Desert) with the Minnesota Twins and Brooks Kriske (Palm Desert) also with the Athletics.
Ward has played in 104 games for the Orioles this year and is hitting .251 with 63 runs scored and seven home runs. He leads all of baseball with 81 walks. Estrada has pitched in 21 games for the Padres this year but has been on the injured list since June 2 with a knee injury. Adams, a relief pitcher, has thrown in 21 games for the Twins and has a 2-0 record.
Coincidentally, Adams was in the opposing dugout from Serven on Sunday as the A's played the Twins. Adams pitched an inning in relief in the Twins' 11-8 win.
Brooks Kriske, also a Palm Desert alum, is on the Athletics 40-man roster and pitched two games for the A's this May before going on the injured list with a shoulder injury.
Desert Major Leaguers
These are the nine players who have graduated from a desert high school and gone on to play in the major leagues (in order of number of games played through the July 26, 2026):
- Taylor Ward (808 games): Shadow Hills grad, outfielder with Los Angeles Angels 2018-2025, Orioles 2026
- Jeremiah Estrada (177 games): Palm Desert grad, pitcher with the Cubs 2022-2023, Padres 2024-present
- Brian Serven (103 games): Palm Desert grad, catcher with the Colorado Rockies 2022-2023, Blue Jays 2024, Athletics 2026
- Tyson Miller (74 games): Shadow Hills grad, pitcher with the Cubs in 2020, Rangers in 2022, Brewers, Dodgers and Mets in 2023, Mariners and Cubs in 2024-2025
- Chris Clapinski (70 games): Palm Desert grad, infielder with the Marlins 1999-2000
- Tony Perezchica (69 games): Palm Springs grad, infielder with the Giants and Indians 1988-1992
- Travis Adams (39 games): Palm Desert grad, pitcher with Twins in 2025-Present
- Brooks Kriske (38 games): Palm Desert grad, pitcher with the Yankees 2020-21, Orioles in 2021 and Royals in 2023 and Twins in 2025, A's 2026
- Anthony Claggett (3 games): Palm Springs grad, pitcher with the Yankees and Pirates in 2009
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Brian Serven back in the majors as opportunity opens up with the A's
