The Athletics optioned Butler to Double-A Midland on Sunday.
Butler made waves in spring training by producing a 1.625 OPS and drawing four walks while striking out just three times in 11 games, but since the 22-year-old has never played above the High-A level, he never was viewed as a likely candidate to break camp with the big club. He'll at least be rewarded for his excellent spring with his first taste of the Double-A level to open 2023.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Standing out in spring
Rotowire
Butler is hitting .571 (8-for-14) with three doubles, a triple, a home run, seven RBI, three walks, two stolen bases and four runs across eight Cactus League games.
Butler has yet to play above the High-A level, but his numbers against big-league arms thus far this spring underscore his impressive all-around skill set. The 22-year-old generated a solid .270 average and .825 OPS in 2022 at High-A Lansing, and Martin Gallegos of MLB.com notes Butler's body of work this spring makes it highly likely he'll start the season at Double-A Midland and possibly make his big-league debut before the end of the 2023 campaign.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Added to 40-man roster
Rotowire
Butler was added to the Athletics' 40-man roster Tuesday.
A physically impressive corner outfielder and designated hitter, Butler hit .270/.357/.468 with 11 home runs, 13 steals and a 31.5 percent strikeout rate in his age-21/22 season at High-A. Now that he is on the 40-man roster, the clock will be ticking on Butler to adjust to a higher level of pitching at Double-A.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Returns from IL
Rotowire
Butler (arm) has gone 2-for-11 with two doubles, three walks, one stolen base and three runs in four games for High-A Lansing since being reinstated from the 7-day injured list Thursday.
Butler was sidelined at Lansing for approximately seven weeks due to an arm injury. The 22-year-old is slashing .260/.351/.439 with eight home runs and 11 stolen bases over 295 plate appearances on the season at High-A.
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Athletics' Lawrence Butler: Sidelined with arm injury
Rotowire
High-A Lansing placed Butler on its 7-day injured list Wednesday with an apparent arm injury, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.
Lockard notes that Butler's arm appeared to get tangled up in gruesome fashion when he stole his 10th base of the season in Monday's game against Great Lakes, but the extent of the 21-year-old's injury isn't fully known. Butler had struggled to get going at the plate to begin the season, but he had settled in nicely since the beginning of May, slashing .294/.354/.521 with eight home runs in 52 games during that stretch.
