A trade war between the Phillies and Braves over a longtime Atlanta target is brutal news for the Braves

The Philadelphia Phillies control the NL East regardless of the outcome of their weekend series against the second-place Atlanta Braves. Thanks to a strong start to the regular season, the Phillies have taken a nine-game lead over Atlanta heading into the All-Star break.

However, with less than a month until the MLB trade deadline, the Braves and Phillies could be battling for the same targets as they chase divisional supremacy. Atlanta is without a starting pitcher and an outfielder due to devastating injuries to Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. early in the season. Philadelphia, meanwhile, could be in need of a new starting center fielder and a starting pitcher late in the season due to Taijuan Walker’s injury and Ranger Suarez’s recent struggles.

According to Bob Nightengale, one of the outfielders who has attracted interest from the Phillies is Oakland Athletics star Brent Rooker, who has also been on the Braves’ radar for some time. In Nightengale’s notes, he wrote that “The Philadelphia Phillies are keeping a close eye on Oakland A’s left fielder Brent Rooker. The Phillies rank 26th in OPS among left fielders this season.“

While Alex Anthopoulos has kept tabs on Rooker over the past year, the Braves and Athletics haven’t been in contact about a deal involving the star outfielder in… a while. Anthopoulos’ trade history with the A’s hasn’t gone as planned for Oakland, which begs the question: Why would the Athletics make another deal with Atlanta?

The Phillies, meanwhile, have a much better scouting system (five prospects in the top 100 per MLB pipeline) and an unblemished reputation in Oakland, at least for now. Dave Dombrowski is one of the most aggressive executives in MLB and places less emphasis on prospects than most GMs in the sport, especially if he can get real major league talent in return.

So far this season, Rooker is hitting .277/.351/.540 with an .891 OPS. He has 18 home runs for the Athletics, where he is under contract through the 2027 season with three years of arbitration.

Rooker’s stats and contract should spark a bidding war if the A’s intend to trade him, which is where the Phillies have an advantage over the Braves, who have lost much of their farm talent in recent years in trades for Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Chris Sale and more.

Dombrowski and the Phillies can win the National League East. Adding Rooker would only add salt to that ATL wound.