A's Claim Brent Rooker From Royals
The Oakland A's claimed outfielder Brent Rooker, 28, off waivers from the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. He was drafted by the Twins in the first round (35th overall) back in 2017, and was part of the deal that sent Taylor Rogers to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Chris Paddack, and old friend Emilio Pagán.
San Diego traded him a few months later to the Royals, and the Royals designated him for assignment on November 15 as part of the 40-man roster deadline.
So what are the A's getting in Brent Rooker?
He's a corner outfielder that has some pop, hitting .289 with a .395 OBP in 81 minor league games last season, while also crushing 28 home runs. His strikeout rate does hover around 30% (28.2% in the minors and 30.5% in the big leagues last season), which is a little higher than the A's have been targeting of late, but Oakland also needs some power bats, and Rooker has thump.
He's a pull hitter from the right side with 30 of his 38 hits in 2021 going to the left side of second. With the shift ban going into place for the 2023 season, the A's could be giving him a look to see what kind of production they get from him with just two players on either side of second.
He went 4-for-32 in The Show last season, but got into 58 games with the Twins in 2021 and hit .201 with a .291 OBP and a .688 OPS. He also hit nine homers and held a 91 wRC+, meaning he was nine percent below league average.
In 2020 and 2021 his max exit velocity was in the 80th percentile, so he can hit the ball hard, and he has an above average arm, too. His fielding hasn't rated great on Baseball Savant, collecting -9 Outs Above Average in parts of three seasons.
The A's can give him playing time, and sometimes all it takes is regular playing time to unlock a player's potential. We saw Vimael Machín start to turn things around once he was in the lineup every day just this season.
With the addition of Rooker, the A's 40-man roster is currently full. That could change with Friday's non-tender deadline.