Outfielder Lawrence Butler And Athletics Finalize 65.5 Million, 7-year Contract

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.