5 trade targets that would make Pittsburgh Pirates potential NL Central contenders

Brent Rooker

Yandy Diaz, Taylor Ward, Kyle Finnegan, and A.J. Puk are pretty realistic trade targets for the Pirates. All are controlled for multiple years, are good players, and probably won’t cost an arm and a leg to acquire via trade. This trade target, however, is definitely bolder than the first four, but he’d give the Pirates’ lineup an even bigger boost than Taylor Ward, even if Ward lived up to his expected stats. The player in question is Oakland Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker.

Rooker broke out last year with a big 2023. He batted .246/.329/.488 in 526 plate appearances. Rooker may have struck out almost a third of the time with a 32.7% K%, but he walked at an above-average 9.3% rate and hit for a ton of power. Rooker bashed 30 home runs and had an isolated slugging percentage of .242. He ended his campaign with a .348 wOBA and a 127 wRC+.

But Rooker has had an even better 2024. The DH is slashing .291/.369/.573 with a .399 wOBA and 166 wRC+. He has already hit 21 home runs in 344 plate appearances and has a .281 isolated slugging percentage. While he is still striking out a ton with a 32.6% K%, he has also improved his walk rate to 10.5%. Rooker has simply been one of the best hitters in baseball. He ranks in the top 10in OPS, wOBA, and wRC+.

Rooker is hitting the ball even better than last year. He was in the 85th percentile of exit velocity at 91.6 MPH and the 93rd percentile of barrel rate at 15.6%. This year, he is in the 90th percentile of exit velocity (92.1 MPH) and the 98th percentile of barrel rate (17.6%). The only qualified batters with a better barrel percentage than Rooker are Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, Juan Soto, Marcell Ozuna, and the Pirates’ very own Oneil Cruz.

Rooker could sustain this production if he were traded to the Pirates. PNC Park is more hitter-friendly than the Oakland Coliseum. It also allows more home runs on average. He would currently have more home runs than his current total of 21 if he played predominantly in every National League park except for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field.

The only question would be where the Pirates would play Rooker. Rooker has only 542.1 innings played in the outfield in the last two seasons. Most of his playing time has been as a designated hitter. When he has played in the outfield, it hasn’t been pretty. He has -6 defensive runs saved and -8 outs above average. Rooker isn’t slow with a 27.4 feet/second sprint speed (league average is 27 feet/second), but that’s about where all the positives end for his defensive prowess.

Aside from being a top-10 hitter this year, the Pirates would also have to pay up for his three more seasons of control remaining. Rooker has yet to hit arbitration. This offseason will be his first round of it. 

But if you hit as powerfully as Rooker has, any team will find a spot for you. That might mean doing something unconventional, like playing Andrew McCutchen in the outfield more frequently or giving Rooker some time at first base, a position he played during college and early in his minor league career. Whatever defensive alignment would have to be put out there would be worth it to get Rooker’s bat in the lineup.