Perfect Replacement for A's Rooker Following Season-Ending Surgery

The A's will be without their All-Star hitter for the remainder of 2026.

May 16, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) watches the flight of his home run against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The A's have had some unfortunate injury news recently, and on Wednesday, it was announced that it was even worse than we expected. The team will be without its All-Star designated hitter, Brent Rooker, for the remainder of the season, as he will undergo knee surgery.

Rooker was placed on the Injured List in the same transaction that activated Jacob Wilson. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be long before Jacob Wilson would return to the IL, and there's certainly a chance his injury might require surgery as well.

Jun 5, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker (25) hits a home run during the sixth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Luckily, the A's have a ton of depth on their offense, so they should have some in-house options to replace the slugger. It's certainly going to be tough to replace the consistency of Rooker, considering the fact that he played in all 162 games for the A's last season.

Brent Rooker Has Been a Superstar Since Joining the A's

Rooker was originally a first-round selection in 2017 and played on a bunch of different big-league teams, and it felt like many of them just gave up on him.

After joining his fourth big league team, he settled in and became an All-Star in his first season in the Green and Gold.

Brent Rooker will undergo season-ending left knee surgery to repair a cartilage issue, per @MartinJGallegos. pic.twitter.com/RU5PfViISU

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) July 1, 2026

Since then, he's had back-to-back-to-back 30+ home run seasons, a pair of All-Star visits, and a Silver Slugger Award.

Rooker also holds a career .815 OPS, which is really impressive considering he was given up on by many organizations and was a waiver claim for the A's.

Jonah Heim Is the Perfect Replacement for Rooker

Jun 20, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics designated hitter Jonah Heim (15) bats against the Los Angeles Angels during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's going to be tough to replace someone who's so impactful to the A's offense like Brent Rooker is, but they have just the guy to fill in the role just fine.

Jonah Heim has been raking, and quite frankly, becoming one of the clutchest hitters on the team since rejoining the organization.

He was on the team in 2020, then was dealt to the Texas Rangers, and after a couple of stops, he's back in Green and Gold.

Jonah Heim crushes a 444-foot homer 💪

(MLB x @MountainDew) pic.twitter.com/tIxljgTE25

— MLB (@MLB) July 2, 2026

After a bunch of these clutch moments and consistency behind the plate and at the plate, he's earned the opportunity to play every day. Teams will be interested in Heim at the deadline, specifically teams looking for a strong all-around backstop.

However, assuming the A's can be competitive, they would like to hold onto him for their playoff push, not only to DH, but also to be an amazing backup to their star, Shea Langeliers.