Former potential trade target Brent Rooker to sign extension with A’s

Athletics slugger Brent Rooker, the right-handed hitter who was a rumored trade candidate during his breakout 2024 season, will be staying with the A’s organization.

Rooker agreed to a five-year, $60 million extension with the Athletics, according to The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal during the early hours of Tuesday morning. The deal has a vesting option for a sixth year that can bring the total value to $90 million, per Rosenthal.

Rooker, 30, built upon his All-Star 2023 campaign to establish himself as one of the most threatening power bats in the major leagues this past season. He hit 39 home runs with a .927 OPS, earning a Silver Slugger at designated hitter and a 10th-place finish in American League MVP voting. Rooker’s production was perhaps the Athletics’ brightest spot in their final season in Oakland.

With his team struggling and Rooker surging, he appeared to be a candidate to be traded at this past summer’s deadline, and the Phillies were, at one point, a rumored fit for a possible landing spot. His bat would’ve been an asset in left field for Philadelphia, but Rooker didn’t appear in the field after May while the Phillies were set at DH. Any deal would’ve been challenging due to the realities of the team’s roster and the high price it would’ve taken to get him.

The Phillies instead traded for Austin Hays to play left field in the second half, but he struggled to hit and missed time due to injury and a kidney infection. The Phillies did not tender him a contract at the end of the year, then signed the left-handed-hitting Max Kepler to a one-year contract to play left field in 2025.

The A’s decided to hold on to Rooker at the deadline and have now made him a key figure in their upcoming years. The Athletics have surprisingly spent some serious money this offseason as they prepare for their first season in West Sacramento, first signing free-agent starting pitching Luis Severino to a three-year, $67 million deal before locking in Rooker.

But Rooker, a five-year big leaguer on his fourth team, has found a club to invest in him.

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