The St. Louis Cardinals missed the postseason for the second year in a row, having played in October from 2019 to 2022. This lack of success appears to have prompted the organization to embark on a short-term rebuilding effort in 2025. Could the Cardinals make an unexpected trade for Athletics’ slugger Brent Rooker?
Rooker recently earned his first Silver Slugger Award for batting.In 614 plate appearances, he hit 293/.365/.562, including 39 home runs, 26 doubles, 112 RBI, and 82 runs scored. This was his second consecutive season with at least 30 homers, but his overall offensive productivity increased dramatically. His OPS increased from.817 in 2023 to.927 in 2024.
Spotrac predicts the right-handed hitter will make $3.5 million next season. He’s also under team control until 2027. This makes Rooker an appealing trade target for clubs in need of extra offense. A’s general manager David Forst stated on November 5 that the club does not intend to trade Rooker this winter. However, things can change, especially if the perfect combination of players is given in the hopes of closing a deal.
Josh Jacobs of FanSided’s Redbird Rants compiled a list of five “wild” trade offers that St. Louis could consider to expedite the organization’s reset. Here’s what he came up with as a possibility A’s-Cardinals trade: – The Cardinals obtain designated hitter Brent Rooker. – A’s get a second baseman. Nolan Gorman, first baseman Alec Burleson, and right-hander Tekoah Roby
This could be appealing for the A’s because both Gorman and Burleson are under team control until 2029 and will not be arbitration eligible until 2026. MLB.com ranked Roby as St. Louis’ sixth-best prospect in 2024. A deal to transfer Rooker to the Cardinals – or anyplace else – is probably implausible. However, it will be intriguing to see if the slugger is actually unavailable during trade discussions this winter.
