AL West: A’s slugger Brent Rooker to have season-ending surgery

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker will undergo surgery to repair a cartilage tear in his left knee and miss the remainder of the season.

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“This is a big blow,” manager Mark Kotsay said Wednesday before the A’s played the Los Angeles Dodgers. “It’s a middle-of-the-order bat. It’s a guy that produced for us offensively for the last three seasons with 30-plus homers. There’s not one guy that is going to come in here and step in with that type of production. We’ll do our best to fill that void and make the best of the situation.”

The tear was discovered during an examination Tuesday at Stanford.

The Athletics (41-46) led the AL West for much of April and May, but they enter Thursday three games back of the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners, who are tied for the division lead at 44-43.

A two-time All-Star, Rooker hasn’t played since June 8.

Rooker played in all 162 games in 2025 but was in and out of the lineup this season due to his knee and a nagging oblique issue. The 31-year-old slugger was batting .200 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs before he was placed on the injured list June 12, retroactive to June 9.

In addition to Rooker being sidelined, three other A’s starters landed on the IL in late June: infielders Zack Gelof (bruised right hand) and Jacob Wilson (right thumb inflammation), and left fielder Tyler Soderstrom (left hip impingement).

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