Oakland Athletics designated hitter Billy Butler may have gotten hot in September, but that doesn’t mean he’s suddenly back to his All-Star form. The A’s should do anything they can to part ways with the slugger, considering he’s hit just .252/.323/.395 this season.
Under normal circumstances, that line would be palatable thanks to the high on-base and slugging percentages. A player doesn’t have to crush the ball or walk every time to be valuable to his team, especially if he’s good with a glove. But Butler is a designated hitter. Designated hitters are players like Nelson Cruz, with a .951 OPS, or David Ortiz, who has a .898 OPS. Even Kendrys Morales of the Royals has a .843 OPS, while Butler’s is just .718 – one of the worst in the game at his position.
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The concerning part is that Butler is getting older, and the A’s still have two more years of his contract. His average has declined by almost twenty points per year each season since 2012. His OPS dropped nearly 100 points between 2012 and 2013, then fell another 85 points the following year. This season, it’s actually 16 points higher than it was in 2014, but the overall trend is clear: Butler is not getting better as the years go by.
The logic behind this free agent signing remains a mystery, but at this point, who would even take Butler in a trade? Saying the A’s need to dump him is all well and good. But the team is on the hook for a lot of money – a lot – and they aren’t going to just cut him. That means the A’s would need to find someone who needs an overpaid, semi-powerful hitter who’s on the decline – and it seems unlikely that many teams are on the lookout for such a player.
The end result is that Butler is likely to be on the roster in 2016, taking up a valuable bench spot that could go to a younger player. The only solution is to give him consistent but well-managed playing time, and if he continues to hurt the team, the A’s will need to consider a deal like the one the Atlanta Braves made this season. They swapped a struggling Chris Johnson, who is owed $9 million in the 2017 season, for the Cleveland Indians’ Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn. Both of those aging veterans were also signed to expensive contracts, but their money is mostly due next year, as opposed to later on.
Since the Braves knew their window for playoff contention was a bit farther off than Cleveland’s, it was a deal that made sense for both teams. Cleveland could gamble on Johnson’s return to form, but free up one roster spot and get rid of some of the money they owed next year. The Braves, meanwhile, have to deal with Swisher and Bourn through 2016, but they no longer have Johnson’s impending raise hanging over their heads.
If the A’s are going to deal Butler, it would likely be to a team that wants to clear a bad long-term deal off of their roster in exchange for providing short-term financial relief. Deals like that are in short supply to begin with, and the A’s would have to commit to taking on a risky or expensive deal in return – neither of which are hallmarks of Billy Beane’s tenure as general manager. Add on to that the fact that designated hitters are only valuable to 15 of the 30 teams, and the chances of a trade get even slimmer.
Unless an unexpected option like the Chris Johnson deal pops up, look for Butler to grace the A’s with his presence for every remaining moment of his contract.