This story was excerpted from Martín Gallegos’ A’s Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
WEST SACRAMENTO -- Brent Rooker’s 2026 campaign was nothing at all like he or the Athletics envisioned.
Coming off his second All-Star selection the previous season, Rooker was dealt a blow early with a right oblique strain in April. Missing just over two weeks, the slugger later dealt with left knee soreness in May that led to his placement on the injured list on June 12 and resulted in having to undergo season-ending arthroscopic knee surgery in July.
As opposed to playing 162 games in '25, Rooker finished '26 limited to just 48 games, batting. 200 with a .670 OPS, 10 home runs and 29 RBIs.
Rooker was just one of several key players who missed the majority of the year for the A’s in what was a frustrating 64-98 season. Shortly after the final game of the regular season last month, Rooker sat down with MLB.com to discuss his injury-riddled campaign and look ahead to 2027.
MLB.com: I know this year was weird for you, especially after playing all 162 games last year. Was there anything you gained from being on the bench for so long and maybe getting a different perspective of the game?
Rooker: It’s a good question. I don’t know. You’re kind of forced to find different ways to be valuable, I guess. For the most part, it’s just kind of talking to the younger guys. Trying to teach them what you can and trying to kind of guide them. You see guys with so much talent. [Henry] Bolte is the one that stands out. He has all the talent and physical ability in the world, and you saw how far he came this year. He established himself as a really, really good player, and I think he’s going to be a superstar at some point. So, just kind of finding guys like that and talking him through the game and talking through hitting. Helping any way you can. The main thing was trying to find different ways to provide value when you can’t be on the field.
MLB.com: You were able to get some batting practice in and do some running at the end of the season. Going into the offseason, how does it feel to know that you might have somewhat of a normal offseason workload?
Rooker: It’s good. That was kind of the plan when the surgery happened when it did. To get back to full strength so that the offseason was unaffected, which is a big thing heading into next year. I feel like I’m in a good spot. I feel healthy and strong. I feel like I’m ready to attack the winter doing things I need to do to get ready for spring.
MLB.com: Injuries are never something you want to use as an excuse, but with so many injuries to key guys in 2026, what feeling does that create going into 2027 with hopes that all those guys can get back healthy?
Rooker: I think the optimism remains. You recognize the pieces we have. You recognize the pieces that either came along or reestablished themselves this year. A big positive was, those last two months, we had [Zack] Gelof and Lawrence [Butler] both hitting in the middle of the order and doing a really good job. Zack had an unbelievable year. Lawrence’s second half was really good. Bolte establishing himself. There are some positives to take away. You mix those guys with the group that we should have coming back healthy next year, I think we’re in a good spot. There’s reason to be excited about 2027.