This under-the-radar slugger could be the best available hitter at the Deadline

By Thomas Harrigan | July 21, 2024

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With the Trade Deadline less than two weeks away, one of MLB’s hottest hitters is about to be thrust into the spotlight.

Playing for a rebuilding Athletics club, designated hitter Brent Rooker’s outstanding season might be flying under the radar. However, the 29-year-old should be a popular name on the trade market leading up to the Deadline, which is quite a turnaround for a player who played for three organizations and posted a .668 OPS over 81 games from 2020-22.

Initially selected by Minnesota with the 35th overall Draft pick in 2017, Rooker was traded twice -- by the Twins in April 2022 and the Padres in August 2022 -- and designated for assignment by the Royals before being claimed off waivers by the A’s in November 2022.

Rooker went on to have a breakout season with Oakland in 2023, producing 30 homers and a 127 OPS+ over 137 games, and he has been even better this season.

Rooker closed out the first half with a .426/.493/.885 slash, eight homers and 18 RBIs over his final 17 games. That wasn’t enough to earn him his second straight All-Star selection, but he has certainly raised his stock, if not his profile.

On the heels of his torrid stretch to end the first half, Rooker went into the All-Star break with a .942 OPS and a 169 OPS+, putting the A’s slugger among some of the biggest names in the sport. In terms of OPS+, only five qualifying hitters were better during the first half.

All stats below are as of the All-Star break.

OPS+ leaders in 2024

Compare Rooker’s production to some of the other hitters who have gotten some trade buzz this summer and he looks even more impressive.

2024 OPS+ figures for notable trade candidates:

Sure, Rooker’s lofty strikeout rate of 32.6% might make it difficult for him to replicate that production in the second half, which is a concern for any team considering a trade for the slugger. But he also struck out a lot last season (32.7%) and still managed to post an OPS+ that was 27% better than the league average.

Rooker does a ton of damage when he makes contact, which offsets his strikeout woes to an extent. The contact-quality metrics below, all of which only take his batted balls into account, are evidence of that. Each of these figures is up from last season.

Add it all up, and Rooker has recorded an incredible .552 expected wOBA on contact, a Statcast metric measuring a hitter's expected performance based on his quality of contact (exit velocity and launch angle). Rooker also fared well in that department last season (.472), though not nearly to this extreme. He has the third-best mark among qualifiers in 2024, after Judge and Ohtani.

Highest xwOBA on contact, 2024

  1. Judge: .608
  2. Ohtani. 569
  3. Rooker: .552
  4. Marcell Ozuna: .546
  5. Soto: .501

And that figure doesn’t even factor in his batted-ball location. Rooker has also been pulling the ball way more this year, increasing his pull rate from 35.3% to 45.1%. Why does that matter? Because nobody in the past two seasons (minimum 50 pulled batted balls) has posted a higher slugging percentage when pulling the ball than Rooker (1.138).

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Why the A’s might trade him

With three years of team control remaining after 2024, Rooker seems like the type of player the A’s should be building around rather than trading away. But at his age, it might make more sense for the rebuilding team to flip him for younger assets.

Likely on their way to a third-straight last-place finish in the AL West, the A’s don’t seem particularly close to contention. Even if you assume that Oakland will be ready to contend by Rooker’s final year of team control in 2027, he’ll be in his age-32 season at that point.

As a strikeout-prone DH who will turn 30 this November, Rooker’s trade value will likely never be higher than it is right now.

Potential fits

Rooker would fit with a long list of clubs, either as a corner outfielder or a DH. Here’s a look at seven postseason contenders with a big need for the 29-year-old.

Phillies: The Phils, who have MLB’s best record, are reportedly prioritizing adding a right-handed hitter to their outfield mix. With his defensive limitations, Rooker isn’t a perfect fit on a team that has Kyle Schwarber at the DH spot and is starting Nick Castellanos, another defensively challenged player, in right. But Philadelphia might be willing to overlook that due to the offensive value that Rooker can provide. The club’s outfielders collectively have posted MLB’s sixth-worst OPS (.659), including a .595 OPS against left-handed pitchers.

Red Sox: Boston has exceeded expectations this season, putting itself in position to be a Trade Deadline buyer. Rooker would give the Red Sox a boost against left-handed pitching -- they’ve posted a .513 OPS over 157 PAs in those matchups this month.

Guardians: Cleveland entered the All-Star break with the AL’s best record, but it has gotten a .630 OPS from its right fielders and a .651 OPS from the DH spot this season.

Royals: Kansas City already made a move to improve its bullpen with the acquisition of Hunter Harvey from the Nationals, but the club still needs to upgrade its offense. The Royals rank 29th in outfield OPS (.637) and 20th in DH OPS (.699) this season, and they’re averaging just 4.00 runs scored per game since June 1 after scoring 4.92 runs per game through the end of May. A reunion with Rooker would make sense.

Mariners: The M’s had a 10-game lead in the AL West entering play on June 19, but they saw that almost completely evaporate by the end of the first half. Averaging the third-fewest runs scored per game (3.87) in MLB while getting a .672 OPS from its outfielders and a .645 OPS from primary DH Mitch Garver, Seattle desperately needs a bat (or two).

Braves: Three years ago, the Braves acquired four outfielders -- Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario -- after Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his right ACL in July, and they went on to win the World Series. With Acuña sidelined by another ACL tear, this one in his left knee, Atlanta is once again on the lookout for outfielders. The Braves have a particular need for a right-handed bat -- since Acuña went down on May 26, Atlanta outfielders have recorded a .672 OPS against left-handed pitchers.

Pirates: The Bucs are in the thick of the National League Wild Card race on the strength of their pitching staff, but Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and co. need more support from an offense that ranks 20th in runs per game (4.19) and 27th in OPS (.669). Pittsburgh may not want to displace franchise icon Andrew McCutchen as its starting DH, but Rooker could fit in right field, where the team has recorded a .666 OPS.

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