Last weekend, Oakland Athletics slugger Brent Rooker launched three home runs in as many games at Citizens Bank Park, causing Philadelphia Phillies fans to envision the possibility of him hitting October dingers in red pinstripes.
However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today now hears that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies “don’t believe Rooker is a fit.”
On one hand, this may seem contradictory, as Nightengale had previously written that the Phillies were “keeping a close eye” on Rooker. However, this time of the year teams monitor plenty of players, and some of them they realize aren’t fits for their club.
That doesn’t mean that the Phillies don’t think Rooker is an impact hitter. He’s launched 22 home runs and has a .951 OPS this year — any team would love to add that into their lineup.
With that said, the Phillies have Kyle Schwarber fairly entrenched at DH. Rooker would need to play left field to fit with the Phillies. He has played just 72 1/3 innings in left field this season, and 102 1/3 innings between the two corner outfield spots. Obviously, his current employer thinks he’s best suited to be a DH.
Additionally, if the Phillies are looking more for a right-handed batter to start in left field either against lefties or when Brandon Marsh is playing center field, Rooker is overqualified for that role even putting his defensive limitations aside. He’s a player whose bat you don’t want to take out of the lineup at all, because he’ll probably be hitting in the heart of the order.
The 29-year-old is also under team control through the 2027 season, so the price to pry him loose from the A’s won’t be cheap. That’s not to say it won’t be worth it for a team to give up prospects for Rooker, who is well on his way to his second consecutive 30-home run season. But the Phillies — who have Kyle Schwarber under contract for $20 million in 2025 — probably aren’t that team if they don’t believe Rooker can be a full-time left fielder.
