Brent Rooker has been one of baseball’s best hitters over the last two seasons, but the A’s best move might be to trade him at the deadline
Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker reacts after striking out swinging against Houston Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti in the first inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, July 22, 2024. There is no question that Brent Rooker has the makings of a foundational piece for the A’s. He’s been one of the best hitters in baseball over the last two seasons.
In a vacuum, the A’s have plenty of reasons to keep Rooker. He broke out last season following three major-league seasons as a nomad with the Twins, Padres and Royals, hitting 30 home runs, posting an .817 OPS and earning his first All-Star nod. This season, despite a snub from this year’s Midsummer Classic, he’s been even better. In 89 games this season, he’s slugged 23 home runs and owns a .943 OPS, a mark that ranks higher than Yordan Alvarez .
The alternative to trading Rooker is standing pat. That decision carries its own risk. Rooker could viably maintain this level of production, but there’s always the possibility of regression, which would, in turn, decrease his value. Additionally, a good chunk of Rooker’s allure lies in the three years and change of team control that a club would have if they acquired him at the deadline.
It’s not a one-to-one comparison — Pham was coming off a 23-homer, 25-steal season while providing Gold Glove defense — but there are some similarities. At the time, Pham was 30 and heading into his first year of arbitration. He was elite in 2017, posting a 6.2 WAR , but like Rooker, he didn’t have an extensive track record of major-league success prior to his breakout.
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