Immediately after moving out of Oakland, the Athletics started to spend, as if it was a provocation to loyal fans who accompanied the team for decades. The organization, who will be playing in Sacramento this year in anticipation to a relocation to Las Vegas, gave Luis Severino $67 million, signed Gio Urshela and traded for pitcher Jeffrey Springs before making their big move on Monday night.
Athletics sign Brent Rooker to a five-year deal
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, “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.”
It’s an extremely team-friendly deal for the Athletics, and signals the end of an era and the start of a very different one: these A’s, unlike their predecessors, are willing to spend and make roster improvements.
In this specific case, they took their best player (one who was inching closer and closer to free agency) and signed him for a very affordable price. To have a player who almost hit 40 home runs (he finished at 39 last year), drove in 112 runs, and posted a 164 wRC+ in 2024 at less than $100 million even in a best-case scenario could be franchise-changing.
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The Athletics got a bargain with this Rooker deal
According to WAR calculations, Rooker, who put up 5.1 fWAR last year with the Athletics, was worth about $40.8 million. That’s much, much higher than his $12 million average annual value (AAV) with his new contract.
Perhaps his age (30) and the fact he had never produced at the level he played in 2024 were cards that the Athletics used in negotiations to keep Rooker’s price somewhat down. But he also played very well in 2023 and reached 30 homers with a 126 wRC+ and 2.1 fWAR that year.
Rooker is the face of the Athletics and one of the finest sluggers in the American League. What this contract changes is the fact that he is now much less likely to switch teams in the near future, which is extremely meaningful for a team like the A’s.
