During the 2022 offseason, the Athletics were looking for pieces for their roster and took a chance on former No. 35 overall draft pick Brent Rooker, who was on waivers at the time. He earned the final spot on the A's roster in spring of 2023, and when Seth Brown landed on the IL early in the year, Rooker received a chance at regular playing time and immediately solidified his place on the roster. 

In four seasons with the A's, Rooker has combined to hit .261 with a .337 OBP and a 132 OPS+, hitting 109 home runs and driving in 299 RBI. In fairness, his 2026 season was cut to just 48 games due to injury, so these numbers were in less than three and a half seasons total. 

He's been consistent, was the first player to sign an extension with the club on their way to Las Vegas, and is now the veteran leader of the offense — and it's all because the A's had an opening to take a chance on him in the first place. 

Now, with most of the spots on the roster solidified, the A's are facing a different challenge.

Looking around the roster, you'll find nearly every spot is spoken for, barring a trade. Shea Langeliers is solidified at catcher for the next two seasons before he hits free agency, while Zack Gelof will be at third, Jacob Wilson at shortstop, and Nick Kurtz at first base. Second base is the only potentially open spot on the roster, though internal option Joshua Kuroda-Grauer would fit just fine.

In the outfield you have Tyler Soderstrom, Henry Bolte, and Lawrence Butler from left to right. Soderstrom, Butler, and Wilson join Rooker as the extended players on the roster. That is potentially one open spot in the lineup that the A's could address.

While this is great for roster building, as we saw in 2026, it only works if those core players are healthy and producing. 

Butler hit under .200 during the first half of the season, holding a 62 wRC+. He rebounded nicely in the second half of the year, batting .280 with a 130 wRC+, showing his resolve to not give up and see the season through. At the same time, this cannot become routine. In 2025 he was a little above league average before holding a similar 65 wRC+ in the second half of that year. 

Jacob Wilson was second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind teammate Nick Kurtz in 2025, and in 2026 his defense improved greatly, but he faced numerous injuries including a shoulder subluxation and right thumb inflammation. He ended up batting .266 with a .298 OBP and an 83 wRC+ in his 80 games played. 

As a rookie, Wilson had hit .311 with a .355 OBP and a 116 wRC+, landing him an extension last offseason. 

Rooker was also impacted by injuries in 2026, and he subsequently hit .200 with a .281 OBP and a 77 wRC+. 

There are always going to be ups and downs in any baseball career. Injuries played a role in some of those ebbs and flows in 2026, but looking ahead, the club's main characters are going to have to be the ones that carry them back to postseason contention. 

The roster is less flexible and has more money tied up in it, so adding pieces to supplement the team is harder these days. That simply means that the players that are on the roster have to perform.

The A's have already seen what a late opening can do. When Denzel Clarke landed on the IL in 2026, Bolte stepped in and not only played a terrific defensive center field, but also hit .277 with a .764 OPS, 11 home runs, and 21 stolen bases. It was a similar setup to 2023, when Rooker received a chance following Brown's injury. 

Claiming Rooker was the A's taking a chance on a player with skills that just needed an opportunity, and it has worked out for them. These days those opportunities are a lot harder to find, outside of injuries. The extensions that have been handed out amount to the team pushing its chips into the middle of the table with less wiggle room to maneuver. Now we see if that bet pays off.