Brent

Rooker

The long-term extension is now official. Rooker’s metamorphosis into an elite slugger is remarkable considering he struggled upon arrival in the majors and spent time with three different organizations over a two-year span before landing in Oakland prior to the 2023 season. The 30-year-old is coming off back-to-back 30-homer campaigns and should benefit from the Athletics temporary relocation to Sacramento’s hitter-friendly Triple-A ballpark.

There’s a vesting sixth-year option for $22 million, adds ESPN’s Jeff Passan, with Rosenthal noting that the deal could top out at $90 million. We’re not at all sure this is actually a good move for the A’s, given than Rooker is 30 years old and was already under control for three more years. Still, it’s hard not to be happy for the slugger. Building on his breakthrough 2023 campaign, Rooker hit .293/.365/.562 with a career-high 39 homers and 11 stolen bases for Oakland last season. He’ll remain utility-only in most fantasy formats heading into 2025 after logging just 14 appearances in the outfield this past year.

The latest update comes shortly after a report from The Athletic’s Evan Drellich that the A’s need to continue adding payroll this offseason or risk a grievance from the Major League Baseball Players Association. Locking up Rooker to a long-term extension following last year’s 39-homer breakout campaign would certainly help. Fantasy managers are hoping to see the 30-year-old slugger spend enough time in the field next season in Sacramento to regain outfield eligibility since he’ll be utility-only in most leagues entering next spring.

Rooker is arbitration eligible this winter (where he’s expected to earn around $5 million) and is under team control through the 2027 season, but they want to add on a year or two of free agent control as well. The 30-year-old masher delivered a career season in 2024 — slashing .293/.365/.562 with 39 homers, 112 RBI and 11 stolen bases — returning first-round value for fantasy managers that called his name in the later rounds of drafts. He won’t be sneaking through the cracks this season, as Rooker currently sports an average draft position just inside the top 75 players overall.

It’s the fourth Silver Slugger Award for Judge following a 58-homer, 144-RBI campaign where he finished with a surreal 1.159 OPS over 158 games. The other big takeaways here are Juan Soto tying Mike Trout for the most Silver Sluggers (five) before turning 26 and Brent Rooker becoming the first Athletics player to take home the hardware since 2002. Here are the rest of the American League winners: Salvador Perez (C), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Jose Altuve (2B), José Ramírez (3B), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), Anthony Santander (OF), Juan Soto (OF), Aaron Judge (OF), Brent Rooker (DH) and Josh Smith (UTIL).

We’re going to keep Rooker,” Forst told the assembled media at the annual GM meetings, effectively shutting down any potential trade rumors heading into the offseason. The 30-year-old slugger put together the strongest season of his career last year, batting .293/.365/.562 with 39 homers, 112 RBI and 11 steals in 614 plate appearances over 145 contests. The Athletics’ lackluster supporting cast, and uncertainty surrounding their temporary ballpark in San Francisco are legitimate risk factors. However, Rooker remains a surefire top 20 outfielder for fantasy purposes, assuming he regains outfield eligibility at some point during the 2025 campaign.

That the A’s were so hesitant to use Rooker in the outfield this season probably had something to do with this. He’s expected to be ready for spring training.

A disappointing ending to what was still an incredible season for Rooker. He comes one homer short of reaching 40, but he wasn’t just a power guy as seen in a .293/.365/.562 slash. Sure you should expect some average regression for the 29-year-old, but Rooker can flat-out hit, and he should be a (relatively) early target in drafts next year.

Rooker was on base three times in the win, but drove in no runs and was stranded each time he reached. Heading into the last weekend of the season, he’s hitting .298 with 38 home runs and 110 RBI.

Rooker reached three times in Wednesday’s loss to the Rangers, but he’d be stranded each time. He knocked a base hit in the first inning, then drew a walk in the fourth before hitting a double in the sixth. The 29-year-old slugger has hit an incredible .296/.367/.567 with 38 homers, 81 runs scored, 110 RBI, and 11 steals across 597 plate appearances.