Outfielder Lawrence Butler agrees to $65.5 million, 7-year deal with A’s, AP source says

Outfielder Lawrence Butler agreed to a $65.5 million, seven-year contract with the Athletics, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Thursday night, the latest big-money deal for a team suddenly spending as it prepares to play three seasons in a minor league ballpark.

The agreement, first reported by ESPN, 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. The deal as subject to a successful physical, the person said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract hasn’t been completed.

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 gets 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.

Buter’s deal is the second-highest guarantee for a player with 1-2 years of major league service, trailing third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes’s $70 million, eight-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates announced in April 2022.

A 24-year-old who was a sixth-round pick in the 2018 amateur draft, Butler entered last season with just 53 days of major league service.

Butler was on Oakland’s opening-day roster but then got 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 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.

For the first time since the current collective bargaining agreement began in 2022, the A’s are to receive 100% of the amount due under the revenue sharing formula. If a team’s luxury tax payroll is not at least 150% of what it receives in revenue sharing, the burden of proof in a grievance alleging violation of revenue sharing rules would shift to the club from the players’ association.

Earlier Thursday, the club announced Marc Badain as new team president.

There could be additional details from the A’s on Friday when the club takes part in a news conference in Las Vegas, where team officials are aiming to break ground on their ballpark this spring.

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AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson contributed to this report.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb