After 'eventful offseason,' Butler aims to help A's improve

MESA, Ariz. -- As a result of reaching the big leagues for the first time in his career in 2023, Lawrence Butler enjoyed a busier-than-usual offseason.

First came a trip to the Bahamas -- his first time traveling outside of the United States -- to participate in the Don’t Blink Home Run Derby. Then he signed a deal with Nike and paid a visit to the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oreg. The A’s outfielder even got his own day named after him when the city of South Fulton, Ga. declared Jan. 24 to be known as “Lawrence Butler Athletic Achievement Day” on the day his high school jersey was retired at Westlake High in Atlanta.

“I had a pretty eventful offseason,” Butler said. “I got to go home and see my family and friends. I got a lot of praise from people that have been with me and knew me before I even started playing baseball. It was pretty cool to go home and share that with them.”

While this offseason brought a lot of new experiences for Butler, some things stayed the same. He still worked out at “The Hill” in Georgia, a facility set up on a large farm owned by former Braves outfielder Marquis Grissom, who trains several Major League and Minor League players there each winter.

Roaming the same fields as stars such as childhood friend Michael Harris II of the Braves, Butler keyed in on his outfield defense.

“I train with Gold Glove-caliber players and [Grissom] is a four-time Gold Glover, so that was a big emphasis for me,” Butler said. “Get my jumps and arm better. Better footwork. Just everything better.”

Another focus for Butler was his plate discipline, something the 23-year-old felt was lacking during his time in the big leagues last season as he walked just four times in 129 plate appearances after demonstrating high walk rates throughout the Minors.

After hitting .284/.350/.475 with 15 home runs and stealing 21 bases through 89 games with Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas as he quickly ascended through the system, Butler was called up on Aug. 11 and spent the remainder of the season with Oakland, hitting .211 with four homers while playing mostly center field in 42 games.

“That [big league] stint was amazing for me because it kind of showed me what I can do and what I can’t do,” Butler said. “It also just showed me that I belong. That was a big confidence booster for me.”

Butler had some exciting moments in his first taste of Major League action, including a two-homer game against the Blue Jays off a pair of two-time All-Star pitchers. Those flashes left the A’s excited about what might be coming over a full season.

“There’s a lot of upside to Lawrence that we look at from that limited time last year,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “I think Lawrence learned a lot about what he needs to do at this level to have more success. Watching him play center field, I think he’s capable of being a plus defender.”

“I love the way he’s come into camp,” Kotsay added. “You can tell he’s got a mindset that he belongs here.”

The rebuilding A’s have lost over 100 games in each of the past two seasons, and most preseason projections are picking them to once again finish last in a tough American League West division. Butler has a slightly different outlook, pointing to the young batch of top A’s prospects who reached the big leagues last season such as himself, Zack Gelof, Tyler Soderstrom and Mason Miller -- along with other top prospects expected to reach the Majors this season -- as reason to believe Oakland might be flying under the radar.

“I think our whole team is slept on,” Butler said. “We have a very young talented team, but the stigma around the A’s is too much about everything else that is going on. That kind of lights a fire under us that nobody is really talking about us and they really don’t see the talent we have.

“We’re coming for a lot this year. We’re slept on. Everybody is going to underestimate us, and that’s just going to make it even better for us when we beat them.”

Any specific goals for 2024?

“Win more games,” Butler said. “That’s all I want to do.”