The Athletics are securing a member of their young core for so long, he’ll probably make it to Las Vegas.
A’s outfielder Lawrence Butler agreed to a seven-year, $66.5 million contract extension on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal reportedly contains one club option.
The deal buys out two of the 24-year-old Butler’s free-agent years and gives the A’s the ability to take one more if he develops as hoped. Butler is coming off a breakout season in which he hit .262/.317/.490 with 22 homers and 18 stolen bases, making him one of the most valuable players of a 69-93 team.
Butler, a sixth-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, represented a significant player development win for the A’s after a quiet rookie year. The A’s secured another of their young standouts, All-Star designated hitter Brent Rooker, with a five-year, $60 million extension earlier in the offseason.
After a sluggish few years, the A’s have quietly been one of the more active teams in MLB this offseason. They surprised everyone by giving starting pitcher Luis Severino a three-year, $67 million deal in free agency and followed that with deals for third baseman Gio Urshela and starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs.
Those moves likely won’t make the A’s a contender, but they could help push the team into the next tier of MLB squads, right as the team is headed to West Sacramento. With another move to Las Vegas on the docket in a few years, the team has every reason to make itself respectable for a new home crowd.
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