The Phillies are “keeping a close eye on” A’s outfielder Brent Rooker ahead of the trade deadline, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested last month that the club may look to add only modestly ahead of the trade deadline on July 30, and highlighted the bullpen as an area where the team could stand to improve. That’s not to say the Phillies won’t make any additions outside of relief help this summer, however. The club’s 58-31 record entering play today affords them the best winning percentage in baseball, leaving them well-positioned to push for the club’s first World Series championship since 2008 this October.
That doesn’t mean the club lacks holes, however, and outfield production is arguably one of the biggest. With Bryce Harper having moved to first base on a full-time basis and Kyle Schwarber now in an everyday DH role, the lefty sluggers that have worked the outfield corners for the Phillies in recent years have now vacated the outfield grass. Brandon Marsh has performed well when healthy, slashing .265/.346/.414 with a 116 wRC+ while splitting time between all three outfield spots, and veteran slugger Nick Castellanos has begun to heat up in recent weeks and figures to continue acting as the club’s everyday right fielder.
With that being said, each of Johan Rojas, Cristian Pache, and Whit Merrifield have all disappointed offensively this season. While Rojas and Pache both offer valuable defensive in center field and Merrifield’s versatility makes him a useful bench player, none have posted a wRC+ higher than 60 this year despite taking nearly 500 combined at-bats for the Phillies. That’s led the club to resort to using journeyman David Dahl as a left-handed complement to the trio of righties, but while he got off to a hot start in a Phillies uniform earlier this year he’s fallen back to Earth and now sports a meager .207/.242/.397 (75 wRC+) slash line in 19 games with Philadelphia.
It’s easy to see how Rooker would be a perfect fit for the club’s outfield mix. The 29-year-old first broke out with the A’s last year with a 127 wRC+ in 137 games, but he’s taken his offense to another level so far in the 2024 campaign. In 313 trips to the plate with the club this year, Rooker has slashed a fantastic .277/.351/.540 with a wRC+ of 153. While that production has come with a troublesome 32.9% strikeout rate, Rooker has made up for it with a strong 9.9% walk rate and the seventh-highest isolated slugging percentage in the majors.
While .371 BABIP this season is likely too high to be entirely sustainable, advanced metrics are generally buying in on his overall production as his .378 xwOBA is a near match for his .380 wOBA, suggesting that any regression in BABIP should be made up for by his eye-popping 16.4% barrel rate so long as he manages to keep his elite contact quality up going forward. That’s particularly important for Rooker given that the breakout journeyman entered the year with just over two years of service time under his belt. He’s making just over the league minimum this year and would come with three more seasons of team control after this one before becoming a free agent following the 2027 season.
That’s a timeline that lines up nicely with the current window in Philadelphia. Veteran ace Zack Wheeler just signed an extension that will also end following the 2027 season, and youngsters Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott are both also slated to hit free agency following that campaign. Meanwhile stars Bryce Harper, Aaron Nola, and Trea Turner will all be entering this mid-30’s at that point and complementary pieces of the current core like Schwarber, Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto will have seen their contracts expire. That Rooker’s years of control line up so cleanly with Philadelphia’s current window of contention could make him all the more attractive to the Phillies.
With that being said, it’s worth pointing out that the club may have other prioritizes ahead of the trade deadline this year. As previously mentioned, Dombrowski has highlighted a desire to improve the club’s bullpen this summer in the past, and he also cautioned last month that the club wasn’t likely to pursue the sort of blockbuster trade where the club would have to “trade three top prospects” to acquire a player.
Relief help isn’t the only other need the club may look to address this summer, either. The club entered the summer with something of an embarrassment of riches in the rotation that forced Spencer Turnbull into a bullpen role despite a 1.67 ERA in six starts back in April, but since then both Taijuan Walker and Turnbull have hit the injured list, leaving the club to rely on rookie Michael Mercado to fill out the club’s rotation behind Wheeler, Nola, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez. With Turnbull not expected back until late August at the earliest and Walker lacking a specific timeline for return, it’s possible the Phillies could look to add a pitcher capable of helping the club either out of the rotation or bullpen depending on their needs at that moment.
Rooker also isn’t the only outfielder expected to be available at the deadline this year, with White Sox veteran Tommy Pham standing out as a rental option who would likely prove cheaper to acquire than Rooker if the Phillies are concerned with the prospect cost involved in acquiring the A’s outfielder. Kevin Pillar of the Angels, Mark Canha of the Tigers, and Jesse Winker of the Nationals are among the other rental veterans playing for teams who could consider selling this summer and would likely cost the Phillies less than a controllable asset like Rooker.
