"Ronald Acuna Jr. left $600,000,000 on the table" - Reds HOFer claims Braves star couldn’t turn down $100,000,000, draws parallels to Brent Rooker

Brent Rooker extended his stay with the Athletics. The outfielder signed a five-year $60 million deal with the organization that will keep him at the club till the 2029 season. Some feel that he is being underpaid because of his production in the last two years but Reds Hall of Famer Sean Casey thinks otherwise.

As per Casey on The Mayor's Office podcast, Rooker's deal mirrors that of Ronald Acuna Jr.'s contract with the Atlanta Braves. After a super rookie season in 2018 when he won the NL Rookie of the Year award, Acuna signed an eight-year $100 million extension with the Braves.

Casey says that while Ronald Acuna could have waited out for a few years and then signed as a free agent, where he could have earned contracts worth more than $600 million, it was improbable for a 21-year-old to let go of the '120 million' in front of him. Casey gets his facts wrong, misquoting the contract to be worth $120 million instead of the $100 million, the Dominican was actually offered.

Similar to Acuna, instead of waiting three more years to head into free agency, Brent Rooker signing the five-year deal at this current stage is good for him, as per the former Yankees coach. He said:

"Let's break it down a little bit with a guy like Ronald Acuna, from Dominican, obviously one of the best players in the game. But what did he sign? 10 years, $120 million. I mean, you talk about an undervalued guy. Just a couple of years ago he was 40/70. He could very well be better than Juan Soto.

"He signed for 10 years, $120 million or something like that. Like, he left $600 million on the table. Seriously, dude's like 24 years old. I know you talk about leaving money on the table, but when someone puts $120 million in front of your face, when you grow up poor and it’s life-changing, generational money, it’s like, when’s enough?" [13:55]

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Why Brent Rooker's extension helps the Athletics?

Brent Rooker's extension will help the Athletics in more ways than one. For starters, before their move to Las Vegas in the 2028 or 2029 season, they will have a face to represent the team in the initial years. Not trading him at last year's deadline was a move that they knew would help them in the long term.

Secondly, the team has come under fire from the MLB Player Association (MLBPA) for the way they have handled their payroll. There were grievances against the As and three other teams in 2018 and 2019 over the lack of expenditure on the players in their organization.

With the record signing of Luis Severino to a three-year $67 million deal and Rooker's extension, the As are looking at a $97 million payroll for 2025. They have to tip it past the $105 million mark to avoid another grievance letter from the MLBPA.