Next up in our look back at the A’s players in 2025, we turn back to the position player side of things by remembering the season with Brent Rooker. How did the former All-Star and Silver Slugger fare in 2025?
Brent was drafted twice by the Minnesota Twins. He was originally drafted by the Twins in 2016 in the 38th round of the Amateur Draft, and when he chose to stay at Mississippi State University (MSU) for his Junior season, they drafted him again with the 35th overall pick of the first round of the 2017 Amateur Draft. After playing portions of two seasons with the Twins big league club, he was traded to the San Diego Padres in 2022 and then later the same year to the Kansas City Royals. On November 15 he was DFA’d by Kansas City and two days later was plucked off the waiver wire by the Oakland A’s.
What were the expectations?
Rooker made the opening day roster for the A’s in 2023; and was he American League Player of the week during his first moth on the team. He was the A’s lone representative in the All-Star game and led the team in seven offensive categories and established himself as a feared and dangerous hitter in the middle of the A’s lineup.
Rooker signed a five-year, $60 million contract extension to solidify his commitment to the A’s. He played in all 162 games for the A’s in 2025, showing his durability with his ability to play every day. This is no small feat considering the blistering heat of playing in West Sacramento. He showed some statistical regressions in 2025, but for the first time he was not the lone power source of the team and was not the only run producer. He made his second All-Star team and competed in the Home Run Derby.
As the A’s continue to build a solid supporting cast around Rooker, I expect to see him continue to play a vital role in the middle of the A’s lineup. It’s clear that he cut down his swing and struck out twenty-two few times while hitting nine fewer homers last season. Will he put up 2024 numbers or is 2025 the standard to expect from Rooker? I think we can expect big things from “Rook” as a 31-year old veteran for this team.