WD,
Backdriving the holes is the best bet. Because a datum plane is, practically by definition, tangent to a part, there is no question of its location on the part.
Thinking more on it, I'd go with datum A as-is, add a width datum to the diameter of the rod, and add a datum (nominally tangent) to the end of the rod. With these three datums immobilizing the part, control the position of the holes in the direction perpendicular perpendicular to the tangent plane. An alternative is the width of the block instead of the rod as the secondary datum. The width datums can be referenced RFS or MMC.
The basic explanation is you want the end of the rod at a particular location and you want the holes to line up with the matching holes in another part when the end of the rod is in the correct position. The end of the rod is the functional interface and should be a datum reference.
If you were to create a fixture to assemble this part, it would make sense to push the end of the rod against a stop and then set the depth of the block until the holes were positioned over pins. The alternative is to adjust and measure, which is inefficient.