Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Undergoes patellar tendon surgery
Rotowire
Butler underwent surgery Friday to repair a tear in his right patellar tendon.
Butler also had a debridement of chronic scar tissue in his right knee and received a platelet-rich plasma injection to combat chronic tendinitis in his left patellar tendon. The expectation is that he will be ready to go for spring training. Butler played through knee issues down the stretch of the 2025 season, but the hope is that the procedures performed Friday will allow him to put his knee problems behind him. The 25-year-old slashed .234/.306/.404 with 21 home runs and 22 stolen bases over 152 games this season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Could require knee surgery
Rotowire
Butler will meet with a doctor to determine whether surgery is required to repair a patellar tendon strain in his right knee, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.
Butler played through the injury for the last couple weeks of the regular season. If he does need surgery on the knee, it's unclear at this juncture how long his rehab would take. Butler finished the 2025 campaign having slashed .234/.306/.404 with 21 home runs and 22 stolen bases over 152 contests.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Nabs steal in win
Rotowire
Butler went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Friday's 4-3 win over the Royals.
Butler has gone just 3-for-22 over his last six games. He's up to 22 steals this season, including five over his last 11 contests. The outfielder has been far less consistent overall in 2025, posting a .235/.306/.406 slash line with 21 home runs, 63 RBI, 83 runs scored, 30 doubles and two triples over 151 games.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Sitting against southpaw
Rotowire
Butler is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
The 25-year-old outfielder doesn't always hit the bench against left-handed starting pitchers, but he'll do so Sunday with Nick Lodolo taking the mound for Cincinnati. Butler has a .584 OPS in 111 plate appearances versus southpaws this season, but he's been productive overall through 10 games in September with a .361/.439/.528 slash line.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Achieves 20-20 season
Rotowire
Butler went 2-for-4 with a walk, one RBI, three stolen bases and two runs scored in Saturday's 11-5 win over the Reds.
Butler's burst of speed on the basepaths secured a 20-20 season for him. Prior to Saturday, he had gone 40 games without a steal, getting caught on his two attempts in that span. He's also hit well lately, logging multiple hits in seven of his last 13 games. He's up to 20 homers, 20 steals on 27 attempts, 59 RBI, 79 runs scored and a .240/.313/.416 slash line through 141 contests this season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Idle against lefty
Rotowire
Butler is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox.
For the fifth consecutive game, the Athletics are facing off against a left-handed starter (Payton Tolle), and though the left-handed-hitting Butler started in three of the previous four contests, he'll take a seat Wednesday. Colby Thomas will cover center field in Butler's stead and will bat cleanup.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Not starting Monday
Rotowire
Butler is not in the Athletics' starting lineup against the Red Sox on Monday.
Butler has a .188 batting average over 106 plate appearances against southpaws this season, so he'll begin Monday's game in the dugout as the Red Sox send Garrett Crochet to the mound. Tyler Soderstrom, Colby Thomas and Brent Rooker will start in the outfield from left to right for the Athletics. Butler has logged at least two hits in five of his last 10 games, and over that span he has gone 13-for-38 (.342) with six runs, two homers and five RBI.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Clubs homer Saturday
Rotowire
Butler went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 9-3 loss to the Rangers.
Butler snapped a 10-game stretch without a homer, during which he hit just .188 (6-for-32) with three RBI. The outfielder's third-inning blast got the Athletics on the board, but they were playing from behind for nearly the whole game. Butler is up to 18 long balls, 52 RBI, 71 runs scored and 17 stolen bases while slashing .229/.301/.405 over 130 contests this season.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Sitting again versus lefty
Rotowire
Butler is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Nationals.
The left-handed-hitting Butler was out of the lineup Sunday against the Diamondbacks versus a lefty, and he's sitting again Tuesday as the Nationals send southpaw MacKenzie Gore to the bump. Dating back to June 26, Butler has started only one of his club's last six games against lefties. The 25-year-old is slashing just .174/.220/.349 with a 38.5 percent strikeout rate versus left-handers this season and now appears to be on the long side of a platoon. JJ Bleday is in center field, and Colby Thomas is in right field for the Athletics on Tuesday.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Butler is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
The 25-year-old started the previous nine games and will receive a day off against Arizona lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. Butler struggled to a .461 OPS and 30 percent strikeout rate during that span. Brent Rooker will get a look in right field while Shea Langeliers rests his legs as the designated hitter.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Swats leadoff home run
Rotowire
Butler went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the Rangers.
Butler opened up the game with a leadoff home run against Jacob deGrom but was silenced the rest of the way. The long ball was Butler's first hit since coming back from the All-Star break and he's struck out nine times over his last three games. He's hitting just .193 across 16 games in July while posting a 33.3 strikeout rate over that span.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Beginning on bench Saturday
Rotowire
Butler isn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's clash against Cleveland.
The lefty-hitting Butler will take a seat to begin the game against Guardians southpaw Logan Allen. Brent Rooker is starting in right field for the Athletics, while Shea Langeliers is getting a day off his feet as the DH.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Day off Wednesday
Rotowire
Butler is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Right-hander Ryan Pepiot has reverse splits, offering an opportunity to give the left-handed-hitting Butler a day of rest. Brent Rooker will get a start in right field for the Athletics.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Absent from lineup
Rotowire
Butler is not in the Athletics' starting lineup against the Astros on Wednesday.
Butler has struggled at the plate as of late, going 4-for-34 (.118) with one steal, a solo home run and a 37.1 percent strikeout rate over his past eight contests. He'll begin Wednesday's game on the bench while Max Schuemann, Denzel Clarke and Brent Rooker start in the outfield from left to right.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Stays hot in blowout win
Rotowire
Butler went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, two walks and one steal in Thursday's 14-3 victory over the Twins.
Butler didn't drive in a run, but he extended his hot streak in Thursday's lopsided win. The 24-year-old has been on a tear lately, slashing .383/.464/.700 with 12 extra-base hits in his past 15 games. Sporting a .805 OPS on the season, the right fielder has been a major bright spot atop the lineup for a struggling Athletics team.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Scores twice Friday
Rotowire
Butler went 2-for-4 with a steal, an RBI double and two runs scored in Friday's 11-7 loss to the Blue Jays.
Butler came home to score in the third and fifth innings before smacking an RBI double in the ninth to bring Denzel Clarke home. Friday marked Butler's 14th multi-hit game of the season, five of which have come over his last nine games. Over that span, he has gone 14-for-37 (.378) with two steals, two home runs and six RBI.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Getting breather Thursday
Rotowire
Butler is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.
Butler will receive his first day off since May 11, ending a stretch of nine consecutive starts during which he went 8-for-36 (.222 average) with one home run, two stolen bases, seven RBI and four runs. With Butler on the bench, second baseman Max Schuemann will serve as the Athletics' leadoff hitter.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Swats three-run homer
Rotowire
Butler went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run and a stolen base in a loss to the Angels on Wednesday.
Butler gave the A's an early lead with a three-run homer in the second inning, but Los Angeles ended up winning handily. The long ball gave Butler a five-game hitting streak, and he's collected four extra-base hits (three doubles and Wednesday's homer), five RBI and two stolen bases during that span. The strong stretch could be an indication that Butler's bat is coming around, and he's been quite useful in fantasy with seven home runs and eight thefts on the campaign, but his OPS still stands at .700 -- over 100 points lower than the .807 mark he finished with last year.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Not in Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Butler is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.
Butler started the past seven games but will receive a day off after going 6-for-31 (.194) with a 28.1 percent strikeout rate during that span. Miguel Andujar will shift to right field while Gio Urshela starts at the hot corner in the series finale versus New York.
... See More... See Less
Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Rare day off
Rotowire
Butler is not in Saturday's lineup against the White Sox.
It's Butler's second day off of the season and first since April 12. He has led off in every start and is hitting .257 with four home runs, 16 runs, seven RBI and five steals in 26 games.
