MLB insider pours fuel on fire connecting All-Star trade target to Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are one of the more complete teams in the league this year. They have seven All-Stars and studs throughout their roster.

So, when they are looking to upgrade at the trade deadline this year, they have pretty obvious directions to head in. They need help in the bullpen, maybe a fifth starting pitcher and an outfielder that can come in and make an impact.

The outfield spot is really what has gained steam for the Phillies in the last few weeks with the rumor mill connecting them to names like Cody Bellinger and Luis Robert Jr.

But one name sticks out more than the others: Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics.

Phillies continue to draw connections to A's outfielder Brent Rooker

Rooker, 29, has an additional year on his contract, making him safer than a typical rental option. He's also a member of one of the worst teams in the league, which makes him that much more likely to be dealt in the coming weeks.

And he has been incredible this year. Not good, but incredible.

Across 287 at bats, Rooker is slashing .282/.362/.544 with 18 homers, 17 doubles and an OPS+ of 159. He ranks among baseball's elite of the elite in barrel percentage, hard hit percentage, xSLG and average exit velocity, according to Baseball Savant.

Bob Nightengale is the latest MLB insider to draw a connecting line from Rooker directly to the Phillies.

"Philly’s been following him [Brent Rooker] around a lot, so Phillies would love to have him," Nightengale said.

Rooker is the exact kind of impact bat that Dave Dombrowski would be looking to add to his outfield. He's not the defensive upgrade that they would be most comfortable with in their outfield, in fact, he's a huge downgrade there, but his bat is so impactful that it wouldn't matter. When your OPS is north of .900, you can overlook a bit of a lackluster glove.

There's nothing certain yet. No official deals or anything like that. But Philadelphia is definitely keeping their eye on Rooker with a few weeks to go before the trade deadline.