MESA, Ariz. -- Brent Rooker surprised everyone inside Hohokam Stadium -- perhaps himself included -- on Friday when he broke in from his spot in deep left field and laid out for a diving catch to rob Angels catcher Logan O¡¯Hoppe of a hit.
¡°It probably was not as hard as I made it look,¡± Rooker said with a laugh. ¡°I probably could have got a little better jump on it to make it easier. ¡ It fooled me off the bat a little bit, but I did catch it, and that¡¯s the only thing that matters.¡±
The very sight of Rooker playing the outfield was a bit strange. Last season, he served as the designated hitter in 131 of his 145 games for the Athletics and did not play a single inning of defense after May 30. The reason for the lack of defensive action was a right forearm injury he was playing through in 2024 that required surgery at the end of the season.
By no means is Rooker a Gold Glove outfielder, but now that he is back to full health, the A¡¯s believe he is more than capable of handling his fair share of games in left field. More outfield reps for Rooker would also allow the A¡¯s to utilize the DH spot to give some of their top hitters a break from the field while still keeping them in the lineup.
Shea Langeliers stands to benefit from Rooker¡¯s increased outfield time. The A¡¯s catcher has appeared in 254 games behind the plate over the past two seasons. Over that time, his 51 home runs are second most among Major League catchers behind only Cal Raleigh (64).
¡°As good of an offensive player as he is and as big of an impact as he has with the bat, that¡¯s going to be huge for us to get him off his feet a little bit,¡± Rooker said of Langeliers.
Miguel Andujar also figures to be a main beneficiary. Entering Saturday, he was statistically one of the Cactus League¡¯s hottest hitters, batting .433 with a 1.247 OPS and two home runs through 11 games. It¡¯s a stretch not unlike last spring, when he was on his way to earning a spot on the Opening Day roster by hitting .357 with a 1.110 OPS and a team-leading five home runs in 14 Cactus League games before a torn meniscus that required surgery sidelined him until late May.
Once Andujar made his A¡¯s debut on May 24, he emerged as an everyday player and hit .285 in 75 games before a core muscle injury in late August ended his season.
¡°For Miguel, health is an issue after missing a lot of time last year,¡± Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. ¡°This is a guy that played hurt and still was pretty productive for us. We¡¯re hopeful that his Spring Training this year is indicative of what¡¯s ahead and we can keep him healthy so he can be a middle-of-the-order bat that drives in runs and impacts games.¡±
Even in his shortened season, Andujar showed his worth as a defender with 10 outfield assists, tied for fourth most in the Majors. But keeping him healthy with more time at DH and first base, a spot where Andujar has been getting reps in games this spring, is the likely plan now that Rooker is free to roam around the outfield.
¡°He¡¯s as good of a bat-to-ball guy as anybody,¡± Rooker said of Andujar. ¡°He puts together really good at-bats. Getting a full season out of a healthy Miguel would be massive for us in terms of lengthening the lineup and giving us more weapons.¡±
GINN BOUNCES BACK
Frustrated by his six walks through his first three spring outings, A¡¯s No. 14 prospect J.T. Ginn got back on track in Saturday¡¯s 4-3 loss to the Rangers. The right-hander, who has an outside shot to make the A¡¯s starting rotation, limited Texas to one run on two hits and one walk with seven strikeouts across four innings.
¡°Great outing for J.T.,¡± Kotsay said. ¡°He used his best pitch a lot today. You saw [Marcus] Semien have a couple of swings on his sinker there that tell you the sinker is a good pitch. Really happy with J.T.¡¯s overall performance.¡±