MLB news roundup
Happy Monday, Athletics Nation!
The A’s are strutting into Winter Meetings this week in the wake of last week’s bold free agent signing of Luis Severino. The deal signaled that the team is ready to make significantly more of an effort to be competitive now that owner John Fisher has torched a 50-plus year legacy of Bay Area baseball and still needs a tow to make it all the way to Vegas.
Martin Gallegos at MLB.com reported on comments made about the Severino acquisition by A’s manager Mark Kotsay, who suggested that another big move may be on the horizon in stating that the A’s are looking to “get something done” with star slugger Brent Rooker.
That “something” would likely be an contract extension for the 30-year-old, who has hit over 30 home runs the past two seasons and remains under team control through 2027. Mark Polishuk at MLB Trade Rumors points out that that A’s wouldn’t necessarily be thinking long-term; they might wager that The Rook will keep slugging through his arbitration years and hope to keep his cost down as he anchors the A’s Sacramento-era offense while generating a bit of uncharacteristically good PR.
The last player to sign an extension with the A’s was also a slugger: Khris Davis got two years and $33.5 million back in 2019, and the A’s wound up getting a very disappointing return.
Let us know in the comments what kind of offer you would—or wouldn’t—make to firm up the A’s commitment to Brent Rooker!
Also, be sure to check out the weekend report from Nico on the A’s needs and how they might be fulfilled as these Winter Meetings commence.
Have a terrific week, AN.
Parker and Allen finally make the HOF!
Congrats to Dave Parker, member of the A's 1989 World Series team, who makes the Hall of Fame. Dick Allen - also briefly an A's player - also makes it in off the Eras Committee ballot. Great news!
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) December 9, 2024
