Brent Rooker has been a really good hitter for the Athletics the past three years. His breakout year came in 2023, when he hit a career-best 30 home runs and made his first All-Star Game. Then he got even better in 2024, crushing 39 home runs, 112 RBI and OPS'ing well over .900. In 2025, he'll probably finish somewhere between those two seasons, which is still a very, very good slugger.
But there might not be a place for him with the Athletics. Rooker signed a 5-year deal with the team in the offseason, and that looked like the end of Rooker trade rumors, but with the team struggling mightily in 2025 and still being a few years away from contention, trading him now while his value is sky high might behoove the city-less A's.
Enter, the San Francisco Giants, who need offensive pop badly if they really want to compete in the National League. Right now, the Giants rank No. 27 in slugging, which is clearly not good enough to compete with the powerful offenses around the league and even in their own division.
Potential Brent Rooker trade to the San Francisco Giants
Athletics beef up farm system while Giants add Rooker's pop
In this deal, the Giants get Rooker, while the Athletics get Whisenhunt (No. 2 Giants prospect) and Jordan (No. 5 Giants prospect), two guys who should be able to help a big league club within the next few years. On a team with young talent like the A's, that timeline might fit a little better than Rooker's does. Whisenhunt "...Has the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter," according to MLB.com, while Jordan has mashed in his first full year at Single-A after being picked in the fourth round last year.
Granted, with the Giants farm system not being particularly strong, there might be better offers for Rooker out there. I doubt San Francisco would sacrifice its sole MLB Top 100 prospect (Bryce Eldridge) for Rooker, even though the Athletics might demand him in a deal. This hypothetical deal gets the A's two promising prospects to add to their farm while the Giants get the offensive upside they've lacked most of the season. Who says no?