'Sky's the limit' for newly inked Butler. Is the same true of upstart A's?

Lawrence Butler is an unlikely success story. His A¡¯s might be one, too.

If you know Butler¡¯s story, it was a beautiful thing to watch the A¡¯s formally announce his seven-year, $65.5 million extension on Monday in Mesa, Ariz. A press conference was appropriately set up in right field, which is the domain of the man they call ¡°Law.¡±

¡°We couldn¡¯t be more excited,¡± general manager David Forst said, ¡°to have Lawrence locked up into our new home in Las Vegas in 2028 and well beyond.¡±

Few could have imagined such a sight when Butler was taken in the sixth round of the 2018 amateur Draft out of high school in the Atlanta area. Or when Butler, who had a high-strikeout profile to begin with, struggled early in his Minor League career and then missed a year of development due to the pandemic. Or when he looked overmatched in his first MLB exposure in 2023 and again early last season.

But as Forst said, Butler is a guy who ¡°made himself into a great player.¡± He put in the work to refine those swing tendencies, accentuate his bat speed and make the most of his talents.

In the second half last season, Butler slashed .300/.345/.553 with 13 homers and 17 doubles. It was too late to land him AL Rookie of the Year, but, with a 131 OPS+ for the season, Butler proved himself a centerpiece for the budding A¡¯s. And his story, as a product of MLB¡¯s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program and the Marquis Grissom Baseball Association, is a great example of the fruits of an industry-wide attempt to improve the percentage of Black players in the game.

¡°There is no ceiling, to be honest,¡± Butler said of his skills on his sun-splashed extension day. ¡°If I put in the work every day, which I¡¯ve been doing ¡­ the sky¡¯s the limit.¡±

What if the A¡¯s have the same outlook?

It¡¯s a growing question in the industry as the A¡¯s have held positive press conference after positive press conference in recent months.

Let¡¯s not mince words: The A¡¯s situation, playing their home games in Sacramento while wearing Las Vegas uniform patches and waiting for construction of a new ballpark to start near the Sunset Strip, is awkward.

But it doesn¡¯t have to be painfully so.

When you talk to people from other teams about what awaits them when they visit Sacramento this summer, they are quick to point out that this A¡¯s team, with an improved pitching staff and legit lineup pieces coming to form, could be a real handful in what will be a difficult environment to stroll into.

It¡¯s going to be hot out there. This much we know. But it¡¯s also going to be packed. Not 70,000-people-packing-a-venue-better-suited-for-football packed. But 14,000 people genuinely enthused to have MLB games in town. The A¡¯s have already sold out their season tickets.

¡°It¡¯s going to be a great atmosphere,¡± an opposing manager said.

The A¡¯s might give their temporary home crowd a lot to cheer for. They were .500 in the second half last season, when the likes of Butler, center fielder JJ Bleday and catcher Shea Langeliers took hold offensively. And when the winter came, the A¡¯s invested in their product, locking up not only Butler but also Brent Rooker, their 30-year-old DH who finished 10th in the AL MVP vote last year. The A¡¯s also shook off their seemingly forever fiscal frugality by inking right-hander Luis Severino to a franchise-record free-agent contract, adding lefty Jeffrey Springs in a trade with the Rays, improving their bullpen with reliever Jos¨¦ Leclerc and adding to their infield depth with Gio Urshela and Luis Ur¨ªas. Even the manager got some cash, with Mark Kotsay extended through at least 2028.

This onslaught of acquisitions, combined with the potential for young middle infielders Zack Gelof and Jacob Wilson to break out this year, led to the A¡¯s leading our MLB.com player poll on surprise squads.

We surveyed north of 100 players from every Spring Training clubhouse across Florida and Arizona, and, though 18 teams received votes in all, the A¡¯s received at least 10 more tallies than any other team.

¡°They've got a really good group of young guys, and they all seemed to enjoy each other," one player said. "They also have guys who are fighting for good deals, or they're rookies trying to prove themselves. That's a good mix. And I'm sure they're going to want to be loud in [Sacramento]."

This feels like a moment of opportunity in the AL West. The Astros don¡¯t look the same. The Mariners did not do much to improve the offense in support of one of the best starting staffs in the game. The guys who make the Rangers go are all in their 30s. The Angels had a busy winter but still have a long way to go to end the longest active postseason drought in the sport.

For the A¡¯s to assert themselves in said division ¨C or even just vie for a Wild Card spot ¨C would be one heck of a story. But unlike Lawrence Butler¡¯s rise from the sixth round to star status, it¡¯s not one we could say we didn¡¯t see coming. After all, the rest of the league just warned us.