The A’s have narrowed down their list of candidates for the backup catcher job to two.

Austin Allen was optioned from big league camp to Triple-A Las Vegas, the club announced before Wednesday’s game against the White Sox. Allen, who made last year’s Opening Day roster as the backup to primary catcher Sean Murphy, hit .261 (6-for-23) with a home run and three doubles in 12 games this spring.

“We just got to a point where we knew it would be one of the other two guys,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of the decision to option Allen. “Some of these guys aren’t getting at-bats, so we’re trying to streamline things before we go [into the regular season].”

Allen being out of the mix leaves Aramis Garcia and Carlos Pèrez as the primary backup options with a chance to make the club out of Spring Training.

Garcia, 28, joined the A’s last month in a trade from Texas, along with shortstop Elvis Andrus. Though it usually requires time for a new catcher to develop chemistry with the pitching staff, Garcia received a ringing endorsement from A’s right-hander Daulton Jefferies after catching him in Tuesday’s outing for his ability to quickly acclimate to a new environment.

“It’s gotta be a tough spot to come in, especially as a catcher, to a new team and trying to get to know all the pitchers and seeing what they do and don’t like to do,” Jefferies said. “He’s extremely mature and knows the game. Knows your attack methods. He’s just fun to throw to.”

Garcia has also made plenty of noise at the plate, entering Wednesday hitting .350 with three doubles in 10 Cactus League games and feeling like he’s regained full strength on offense now recovered from hip surgery that kept him out for the entire 2020 season.

Pèrez, 30, came to A’s Spring Training last year as a non-roster invitee and remained with the club after the baseball shutdown as a member of the alternate training site in San Jose, Calif. It was at the alternate site where he really impressed the coaching staff for his handling of the younger pitchers on the roster. That may have been a product of his 212 games of Major League experience under his belt.

“He’s just a solid all-around player,” Melvin said. “He’s not flashy but has a pretty consistent game. His leadership qualities are outstanding. He catches and throws well, and he understands the role of a backup catcher where you don’t get to play a lot and have to keep yourself ready. I’ve been impressed with him. He’s done a nice job for us here.”

Regardless of which catcher ends up breaking camp with the A’s, they could have three reliable options to call upon during the regular season, including Allen. With the catcher position being so demanding on the body, it’s not a stretch to think the A’s could use multiple catchers over the course of the season, as they did in 2020 with Murphy, Allen and Jonah Heim.

“We’re happy with all these guys,” Melvin said. “It is nice to have that kind of depth. Early in the season, we typically make adjustments depending on what we’ve seen for a while. You always want depth. I feel better about where we are, depth-wise, than I did when we first got to camp.”