A's Lose Brent Rooker For Season To A Knee Injury, Opening The Door For A Fantasy Baseball Streaming Option

The Athletics may have an uphill battle in front of them after learning that DH Brent Rooker's injured knee will require surgery that will keep him out for the remainder of the season. He has torn cartilage in his left knee, which he cannot play through. With the A's just three games out of first place in the American League West, this could be difficult to overcome, and manager Mark Kotsay knows that it's going to take a team effort to overcome this loss.

Brent Rooker will undergo season-ending surgery to address a cartilage issue in his left knee, per @MartinJGallegos pic.twitter.com/5G9b9yUirs
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 1, 2026

"This is a big blow," Kotsay said. "It's a middle-of-the-order bat. It's a guy that produced for us offensively for the last three seasons with 30-plus homers. There's not one guy that is going to come in here and step in with that type of production. We'll do our best to fill that void and make the best of the situation."

Not only will this be a tough loss for the A's, but it will also be a big blow to fantasy owners who were relying on his power and banking on him getting back on track when it came to his average. Fantasy owners have been without him since June 8, so there is no need to prepare to be without him, but they do now have to accept that he's not coming back.

Fantasy Impact

DH Brent Rooker, Athletics

It had been a tough year for Rooker before this news broke. Injuries have limited him to just 48 games after he played 162 games last season, while his batting average has dropped from .265 last season and .293 in 2024 to just .200 in 2026. His OBO, SLG, and OPS have all plummeted as well to .281, .389, and .670, with a -0.4 WAR.

However, the power numbers were still there. In just 48 games, he hit 10 home runs and drove in 29 RBIs. Over 162 games, that comes out to about 34 home runs and 98 RBIs. With about a month to recover, it was reasonable for fantasy owners to return at this pace, but batting up around .250 after getting healthy. Unfortunately, that will not be the case, and he will be forced to miss the remainder of the season.

What makes it even more frustrating is that there isn't even a true viable DH on the A's to replace him with. They have been rotating their catchers at DH most of the time, with Shea Langeliers DHing on days he doesn't catch, and Jonah Heim when he's not catching. There is a silver lining, though.

While Heim is a tough player to just plug in and trust, he's been solid with the A's. In 31 games with the team, he is batting .253 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs. That at least makes him a streamable option if needed.

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