Brent Rooker has agreed to a five-year, $60 million extension with the Athletics, according to The Athletic. The 30-year-old DH/outfielder broke out with the A’s after bouncing around several organizations until he landed in Oakland in 2023. In his first season there, he earned an All-Star nod thanks to a 127 OPS+, then followed it up with a 2024 campaign that saw him hit .293/.365 .562/.927 with 39 home runs and 112 RBIs, good enough for a 10th-place MVP finish and a Silver Slugger Award.
Rooker underwent elbow surgery in the offseason to correct a nagging issue and is expected to be ready for spring training.
If all works out, he’ll stand as the centerpiece for a team in flux as the Athletics shift to Sacramento for 2025 with plans to move to Las Vegas full-time for the 2028 season. He’ll be surrounded by 2024 breakout Lawrence Butler, elite closer Mason Miller and other potentially strong building blocks in Jacob Wilson, Shea Langeliers, Zack Gelof and JJ Bleday. The A’s have also added Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs and Gio Urshela to the roster this winter.
Will that be enough? While anything can happen, the Athletics still have a tough road ahead of them after finishing in fourth place in the AL West last year at 69-93. That said, none of the frontrunner Houston Astros, the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers have done enough this winter to lock up the division.
A one-year vesting option could push Rooker’s deal to a $90 million total value, which would be the largest in team history.
Earlier this winter, the MLBPA had reportedly expressed concern about the A’s payroll and whether it would be enough to cover the CBA-required budget for a team receiving revenue-sharing. Roster Resource currently estimates the team’s 2025 payroll at $70 million before arbitration raises.
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