A's Reluctant to Trade Brent Rooker

Jason Burke | Jul 28, 2024

Jul 25, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Oakland Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) is greeted by teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland A's DH Brent Rooker has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball this month, batting .408 with a .478 OBP, 10 homers and 25 RBI. On the season, he holds a 167 wRC+, placing him fifth among all bats in the big leagues, behind just Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, and Marcell Ozuna. He's also seventh in MLB in home runs with 25 for the year. Rooker is under team control for three more years after this one, and about to enter his first year of arbitration.

If the A's were to move Rooker, they would be correct to ask for a haul. According to Jon Heyman, the A's aren't necessarily looking to move Rooker.

A’s are telling teams they are reluctant to trade Brent Rooker (.948 OPS) or JJ Bleday (30 doubles). With progress being made and 103.7-mph closer Mason Miller on the shelf, it doesn’t look like a huge sale for them

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 27, 2024

Bleday, who is also mentioned here, is in the middle of a breakout campaign as the A's centerfielder, and has four years of team control left, including one more pre-arb season.

As we said earlier this week, if the A's aren't willing to trade some of these guys, they're not getting good enough offers. Rooker has been a huge part of the team's offense the past two years, and ownership keeps telling people that at some point they'll hold onto these types of players. With the team leaving for Sacramento in 2025, now would be a good time to start down that path.

Just because Rooker, Miller, and Bleday aren't likely to be traded, doesn't mean that the A's won't make any moves. One player that could be readily available is Miguel Andujar. The left fielder is only under team control through 2025, and moving him would open up a spot in the lineup for a few different scenarios.

One would be to give Daz Cameron more playing time to see if they want to keep him around for next year. Another would be to move Max Schuemann back into a utility role, and bring up Darell Hernaiz to play shortstop while Jacob WIlson is on the IL. They could also bring up Colby Thomas, who has been raking in the minors this season, batting a combined .288 with a .354 OBP and 19 homers between Midland and Las Vegas.

The A's also have relievers T.J. McFarland, Scott Alexander, and Austin Adams that could all be made available in the coming days. Oakland may not make a big splashy prospect addition at the deadline, but they may surprise quite a few folks by keeping this roster largely intact as they continue to build for the organization's future.