We hope the Brent Rooker trade rumor comes true
This is a newer rumor but a very enticing one. Oakland A's outfielder Brent Rooker is someone the Phillies are reportedly keeping a close eye on in the lead-up to the MLB trade deadline.
The 29-year-old slugs. In 83 games this year, he's slashing .291/.369/.573 with 21 home runs, 62 RBI and a 166 wRC+. He does strike out 32.6 percent of the time; that's who he is as a hitter. But when you do as much damage as he does, it's a fair trade-off.
According to Ben Clemens of FanGraphs, Rooker swings as fast as Bryce Harper and is barely behind Kyle Schwarber in home runs per plate appearance over the last two years. He doesn't change his approach much, if at all. Even in two-strike counts, he swings to do damage, and boy does he do damage.
"In two-strike counts, hitters have produced a .344 wOBACON, as compared to .370 in all other counts," Clemens explains. "Rooker has a .493 wOBACON in two-strike counts. That might even understate his production; he’s produced the fourth-best xwOBACON (.529) in two-strike counts, behind only Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Harper."
After the lack of production from the outfield, specifically center and left, plugging the right-handed-hitting Rooker out in left as a platoon with Brandon Marsh would instantly increase offense from the bottom of the lineup. He mashes left-handed pitching, hitting .258/.301/.636 against southpaws this year.
Rooker still has three arbitration years on his contract, but with the A's being out of the playoff race since, well, 2021, there's always a chance they'd sell a piece like Rooker at the deadline.