When Athletics Lawrence Butler signed his seven-year, $65.5 million contract extension in early March 2025, it was an exciting development for fans of the green and gold. The franchise, notorious for letting key players go once it was time to pay up, seemed to be signaling a more aggressive mindset with a new stadium in Las Vegas secured for 2028.

At the time, the move made so much sense as a team-friendly deal. Butler was 24 years old and appeared to be ascending as a star-level player on a young, exciting club. In the second half of the 2024 season, after struggling and being sent down for a stint in AAA, he returned to the big leagues as a completely different hitter. The Atlanta native’s whole approach and demeanor at the plate totally changed, and his numbers reflected that. Over the final 73 games of 2024, he batted .302 with 20 home runs, 49 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. Extrapolate those numbers over a full season, and that is MVP-caliber production.

Sadly for the A’s and Butler, he has not come close to replicating that success in 2025 or thus far in 2026. After a mediocre last season, this one has been an abject disaster for the former sixth-round pick. Through 44 games played, he is hitting a putrid .177 with a .277 OBP and a measly three home runs and 13 RBI.

These stats plainly just aren’t good enough for any major leaguer, let alone one who is supposed to be a cornerstone piece of the franchise. Butler is still only 25 years old, but it’s time for the A’s to ask themselves if they made a mistake and if they ultimately need to move on.

Athletics Lawrence Butler Needs To Reset Or Restart

It is abundantly clear that something, or more accurately, everything, is not working for Butler to start the year. The excuse has been floated that he didn’t get a full spring training due to recovering from an offseason knee surgery, and that was the reason for his poor play. With all due respect, that is completely bogus and honestly disrespectful towards Butler’s work ethic, which, for the record, does not deserve to be questioned. That being said, it is almost two months into the season, and if it were just rust, there would have been signs of improvement by now.

It is now to the point where Butler isn’t even consistently in the lineup, and when he is, it is obvious that he’s pressing. As a fan, it is painful to watch because it is clear that he is trying way too hard to be a productive player, with little to no success. The worst part is that his struggles haven’t been limited to any single area; it’s pretty much every aspect of baseball.

Butler’s base running has been flat-out embarrassing, as he has been picked off and back-picked multiple times in situations that would have high school players benched for those types of mistakes. At the plate, it is as if he is starting with an 0-2 count every time. He looks completely lost out there and has compounded matters on several occasions this season by staring at an obvious third strike and then frantically tapping his helmet, only to find that the pitch was fully in the strike zone. ABS challenges are precious and can’t afford to be wasted in an attempt to bail oneself out of a clear strikeout.

On the defensive side, the A’s right fielder is an average defender to begin with, which means he has no wiggle room for silly mistakes. Of course, when it rains, it pours, and he has misplayed or taken poor routes to balls a number of times. Even though the majority of these plays are not technically errors, they have negatively impacted games and further emphasized Butler’s all-around troubles.

At this current juncture, it would be irresponsible to have him in the starting lineup consistently, but benching him day in and day out isn’t going to help his confidence or allow him to break out of his slump. It really comes down to two options for the A’s. One would be to send Butler down to AAA and hope he can have a similar renaissance as he did in 2024. The other, less desirable move would be to find another team that is willing to give him a fresh start, and hopefully recoup some useful assets in the process.

A’s Are In Win-Now Mode

This season is vastly different from those in recent memory for the Athletics. Players, coaches, front office members, and fans expect to win games and compete for a playoff spot right now. This is why manager Mark Kotsay can’t afford to be patient and hold Butler’s hand all year long and play him over guys who are currently better players. Kotsay is well-documented as having great relationships with all his players, and this is certainly a situation that is weighing on him, but the team’s best interest has to come first.

It should be clarified that no true fan is actively rooting for Butler to fail. He seems to be an extremely well-liked person and player, and nothing would make the fans or his teammates happier than to see him turn his season around. The problem is that the A’s are extremely deep in the outfield, almost to a fault.

The best combination to this point has been Tyler Soderstrom in left field, newly promoted top prospect Henry Bolte in center, and Carlos Cortes in right field against right-handers, and Colby Thomas against lefties. This makes Butler the odd man out. That doesn’t include Denzel Clarke, who is currently on the IL, or Brent Rooker, who plays a corner outfield spot when Shea Langeliers needs a DH day. There’s also Zack Gelof and Jeff McNeil, who are infielders by trade but can play outfield if needed. Having this many useful players on a roster is a great problem to have, but it is still a problem nonetheless.

The A’s are in sole possession of first place in the AL West with a record of 23-24. The division and potentially the entire American League as a whole look to be as wide open as it’s been in a long time. Opportunities like this cannot be squandered, especially for a young team looking to build confidence and prove themselves as true contenders.

When Butler is going right, as he showed in 2024, he is one of the most exciting players in baseball. His energy and personality are infectious, and it is evident that his teammates feed off of it and want to see him perform well so badly. Butler still has a chance to be a key part of what the A’s are building, but his time to figure it out is running short. The writing is on the wall for not only him, but everyone in the organization. Nobody is irreplaceable. Play better ball, and if you can’t, somebody else will.