A’s outfielder Lawrence Butler is working back from the patellar tendon procedure that he underwent in early October. He has entered camp a little behind schedule as a result, though it seems he’s on track to be ready for the start of the season.
Martín Gallegos of MLB.com writes that the lefty batter has been cleared to take batting practice and do simple defensive drills. He has yet to get the sign-off to play defense at full effort or run the bases, which is holding him out of game action for the moment. Manager Mark Kotsay told Gallegos that the A’s are hoping Butler will be able to make his Cactus League debut midway through the spring. That’d give him a couple weeks to get up to speed before Opening Day.
Butler is coming off a .234/.306/.404 showing across 630 plate appearances. He had a 20-20 campaign and hit 30 doubles, but his rate metrics were around league average. Although it wasn’t a bad season, it was a step back from the huge 2024 second half that established him as a core piece. Playing through the injury probably had something to do with that. Butler took a .251/.326/.433 line into the All-Star Break but hit .203/.268/.351 in the second half.
The A’s could ease him into the lineup early in the season to avoid placing too much stress on the knee. He’ll be an everyday player once he’s fully healthy. Butler should see the majority of his work in right field. He can kick into center if Denzel Clarke struggles enough at the plate that the A’s prefer to swap out his superlative glove to plug a better hitter into the corner outfield mix.
Clarke missed the final two and a half months of his rookie season with an adductor strain in his right hip. He was a human highlight reel in center field over his first 47 big league contests. Statcast credited Clarke with an astounding 13 Outs Above Average in less than 400 innings. He was fifth in MLB among center fielders while logging around 30-40% of the playing time of the players above him in that category.
The bat is a much bigger question. Clarke has posted worrisome strikeout tallies throughout his minor league career. He punched out 61 times while drawing all of six walks in his first 159 MLB plate appearances. He can hit the ball hard when he makes contact, though a lot of that comes at such low angles that it limits his power ceiling.
Clarke appears to be without any restrictions as camp gets underway. He started his first exhibition game as a designated hitter but has played center field without issue during his two most recent appearances. Clarke also signed on to represent his native Canada in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. That’ll give him the opportunity to play alongside his cousins Bo Naylor and Josh Naylor, each of whom is also on the Canadian national team.
Most of the A’s lineup is settled. Assuming Butler is ready for Opening Day and Clarke wins the center field job, the only lineup spot up for grabs is third base. There’s much more variability on the pitching side. The A’s have multiple young pitchers competing for two spots at the back of the rotation. The bullpen is also fairly open, especially in the late innings.
Kotsay said at the beginning of Spring Training that he does not intend to designate a closer by Opening Day (separate MLB.com link via Gallegos). The A’s found success with a committee approach after trading Mason Miller at the deadline. They explored the market for an established closer this offseason but were seemingly priced out of a quick-moving, generally robust free agent relief class.
The A’s added a pair of veteran arms, Mark Leiter Jr. and Scott Barlow, on cheaper one-year contracts. Barlow has a decent amount of closing experience but has been in lower-leverage roles for the last two seasons. Both righties are reclamation types rather than lockdown arms at the back end. Of the A’s returning arms, Hogan Harris led the way with four saves last season. He’s likely to be in high-leverage roles alongside Justin Sterner, with Tyler Ferguson and Elvis Alvarado potentially in the mix as well.