Astros' AL West rival locks up slugger with surprisingly affordable extension

The American League West has been home to some of the biggest contracts we have seen in the sport. Mike Trout's record breaking $426.5M contract set the tone for guys like Juan Soto, while Anthony Rendon, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton took on large sums of money from the Angels that have been complete failures. The Astros have gotten more than their money's worth from Jose Altuve's five-year $151M and will hope to get the same production in the next five-year deal, worth $125M.

The recent big spenders in Texas dished out half-a-billion dollars to Corey Seager and Marcus Semien just days apart. The often "frugal" Seattle Mariners surprisingly won the Robinson Cano sweepstakes (10-year, $240M) or them creating one of the most intricate deals for Julio Rodriguez with the potential to be a $470M deal.

Then there is the Athletics. They handed out their largest contract in franchise history, giving Luis Severino a three-year deal worth $67M, surpassing Eric Chavez's six-year $66M deal in 2004.

Brent Rooker and Athletics agree to five-year, $60 million contract extension

The Athletics, in surprising fashion, extended their best hitter, Brent Rooker, and a key piece in the Athletics' future Tuesday morning. The deal looks pretty team friendly as Rooker was one of the best hitters in the game in 2024.

The deal is a five-year extension, worth $60M with a sixth-year vesting option according to Ken Rosenthal. Rooker entered his first year of arbitration and was estimated to make approximately $5.1M according to MLBTraderumors.com. This will give Rooker a nice raise in exchange for two, and potentially three, more years of club control (on top of the arbitration years).

While Rooker doesn't really have a defensive home, he is one of the best pure hitters in the game. In 2024, Rooker slashed .293/.365/.562 with 39 home runs and 112 RBI as part of a terrible Athletics club. He even pitched in 11 stolen bases. Rooker ranked seventh in wRC+, ahead of guys like Gunnar Henderson, Bryce Harper, Jose Ramirez and Mookie Betts, proving he is in an elite category offensively.

This is bad news for the Astros as it guarantees that they will have to deal with the slugger for years to come. However, this is great for Rooker as he will be guaranteed more money in the short-term, but this is an even better deal for the Athletics and baseball. Getting a smaller market team to spend some money is always a win.