Outfielder Lawrence Butler and Athletics finalize 65.5 million, 7-year contract

MESA, Ariz. (AP) - Outfielder Lawrence Butler and the Athletics finalized a $65.5 million, seven-year contract on Monday, another major investment for a team preparing to spend three seasons playing in a temporary minor league home.

The deal includes a team option for 2032 that could make the contract worth $81.5 million and escalators that could increase the value to $87.5 million.

A 24-year-old who was a sixth-round pick in the 2018 amateur draft, Butler was on Oakland's opening-day roster last year and was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on May 14 after hitting .179 with seven RBIs in his first 41 games.

He was recalled on June 18 and batted .291 over the rest of the season, finishing with a .262 average, 22 home runs and 18 stolen bases.

Butler gets a $3 million signing bonus, payable $1 million within 30 days' of the contract's approval by the commissioner's office, $1 million next Jan. 15 and $1 million on Jan. 15, 2027.

He receives salaries of $2.25 million this year, $3.25 million in 2026, $5 million in 2027, $8 million in 2028, $10 million in 2029, $14 million in 2030 and $16 million in 2031. The team option is for $20 million with a $4 million buyout, and the price can increase by a maximum of $6 million based on MVP voting: $1 million for each top six-10 finish from 2029-31 and $2 million for each top five finish in those years.

Butler earned $627,000 last season under a split contract that paid at a rate of the $740,000 minimum while in the major leagues and $121,826 while in the minors. He was on track to be eligible for salary arbitration after the 2026 season and for free agency following the 2029 World Series.

After finishing with the lowest payroll in the major leagues for three straight seasons, the A's have become a big-spender heading into the 2025 campaign, the first of at least three in West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park. In addition to Butler, they signed designated hitter/outfielder Brent Rooker to a $60 million, five-year contract and right-hander Luis Severino to a team-record $67 million, three-year deal.