Despite the fact that they're leaving behind their home of Oakland — and moving into a minor league ballpark for the next few seasons — the Athletics have recommitted to building a legitimate roster this winter.
First, they signed Luis Severino to the largest contract in team history, and then they subsequently doubled-down on their new look rotation by swinging a blockbuster trade for Rays starter Jeffrey Springs.
They followed up that wave of activity with an extension for their best player, Brent Rooker. Then, the A's extended manager Mark Kotsay and hired a new team president (Marc Badain) to help with their eventual transition to Las Vegas.
That flurry of signings, trades and extensions is nearly unprecedented for one of baseball's most historically frugal clubs, but even as Opening Day 2025 draws ever closer, the team isn't done quite yet. According to multiple reports, the A's signed breakout slugger Lawrence Butler to a seven-year, $65.5 million extension.
It caps off a wildly productive offseason for the A's, one that featured more money being shilled out then at any point in the franchise's history.
Severino, Butler, Rooker deals top Athletics contract history
While it's been great to see the Athletics finally open up their wallet this offseason, it also comes with a grim reminder of just how little the organization invested in itself while it played in Oakland.
Lawrence Butler's 7 year, $65.5M extension with the #Athletics is the 3rd highest total value contract in franchise history.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 7, 2025
1. Luis Severino: $67M
2. Eric Chavez: $66M
3. Lawrence Butler: $65.5M
4. Brent Rooker: $60M
5. Yoenis Cespedes: $36M
3 of these 5 deals have been signed…
It's worth noting that Butler's deal with comes with an eighth-year team option worth $20 million, so if the A's pick that up in 2032, his contract will top the franchise's leaderboards.
The 24-year-old Butler broke out in the second half of 2024, slashing .300/.345/.553 with 13 homers and 32 extra-base hits. Despite the small sample size, it's clear the Athletics believe in his potential and are willing to bet beg on future production from the outfielder.
Along with Rooker atop the lineup, Butler should be one of the faces of the franchise as they complete their transition from Oakland to Sacramento to Las Vegas.
However, while its worth applauding the franchise for investing in its young talent, it comes with a few caveats.
First, their sudden insistence on spending money this offseason likely traces back to a mandate from the MLBPA. John Fisher certainly didn't wake up one day and feel the pull of generosity like Ebenezer Scrooge after his visitations with the spirits; this is the real world, and real world billionaires are better at hoarding wealth than spending it.
Second, A's are spending this money on homegrown stars because they're going to need players with recognizable names to market to their new hometown fans. It's great that the awaiting contingent of Las Vegas fanatics will have quality players to root for, but where was this kind of dedication to crafting a winner in Oakland?
It's easy to be skeptical about the whole thing, especially seeing that list of the five most expensive contracts in team history. It may border on being a conspiracy, but it feels like Fisher purposely spent as little as possible to build the worst team possible, driving down interest in Oakland and giving him enough ammunition to uproot the team from its rightful home.
Alas, at least the organization is finally paying its players. Good for Butler for securing one of the biggest contracts in A's history. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a new trend for the Athletics, rather than a temporary splurge to appease the MLBPA.