Heavily Rumored Philadelphia Phillies Trade Target Signs Team Friendly Extension

The Philadelphia Phillies have been heavily rumored to acquire this outfielder through trade, and he just signed a team-friendly extension with the Sacramento Athletics.

Sep 28, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Oakland Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) hits a two-run home run during the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images / Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

While the Philadelphia Phillies have one of the best rosters in baseball which helped lead the club to the second-best record in MLB in 2024, it still is not perfect.

With Bryce Harper moving to first base full-time last season, the outfield has been anything but a strength offensively, with Brandon Marsh providing the highest level of production, statistically, with his 109 OPS+.

Nick Castellanos has not played near the level of his peak throughout his tenure with the Phillies while being one of the worst defensive outfielders in the sport. Johan Rojas has been the antithesis to Castellanos on defense, serving as one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball, though his offense leaves much to be desired as well.

The outfield struggles led the club to look for improvements at the deadline, with Oakland Athletics outfielder and designated hitter Brent Rooker being a heavily rumored trade target.

Late Monday night, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic broke the news of a team-friendly extension between Rooker and the Athletics, with the slugger signing a five-year, $60 million pact.

Designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker in agreement with A’s on five-year, $60M extension, source tells @TheAthletic. Vesting option can take the deal to six years, $90M.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 7, 2025

The extension also includes a vesting option for a sixth-year which would add another $30 million to the contract, though the vesting requirements are unknown at the time of writing.

After spending the first three years of his career with three different teams, not getting the chance to start every day with any of them, Rooker has been a mainstay in Oakland's lineup since joining the club ahead of the 2023 campaign as a waiver acquisition.

The regular playing time has seemingly been the key to the outfielder's offensive success, as it has seen him bat .272/.348/.528 across 1,140 plate appearances in 282 games with 69 home runs, 181 RBI, and a 147 OPS+. He has hit 30 or more home runs in each of his two years with the club, as well as having an OPS+ of 127 or better.

Rooker is a power-hitting right-handed bat who would have fit perfectly in Philadelphia. Per Baseball Savant, if the slugger had played all of his games at Citizens Bank Park in 2023 and 2024, he would have hit 32 and 43 home runs, respectively, an increase of six total across those two years.

With the extension now in place, whatever chance was left of the Phillies trading for the outfielder may now be gone and it is highly likely that Rooker plays out the duration of his new contract with the Athletics.