The Athletics' Lawrence Butler sent a message to the rest of the league amid his season-saving hot streak following the All-Star break. The A's, after their month and a half-long slump which saw them briefly crash into last place in the AL West, are well out of playoff contention, but Butler still has aspirations for the remainder of the season. "We’re trying to ruin some seasons," Butler said.
"Send some people to Cancun early. Give everybody a little early vacation.” Butler played hero yet again in the A's 7-4 win against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, hitting a solo home run to cap off the A's' fourth series win in their last six series. Since the All-Star break, Butler has been among the best hitters in MLB, bouncing back from a horrendous first half of the season.
In the second half, Butler's 141 wRC+ ranks higher than the likes of perennial All-Stars and MVP winners like Matt Olson, Shohei Ohtani and Corbin Carroll. Butler has an .891 OPS since the All-Star break, hitting seven home runs—eclipsing his total from the first 88 games of the year—and driving in 19 RBIs. He dragged his OPS up to .694 after his homer on Wednesday, closing in on his .710 mark from last season.
The outfielder first broke onto the scene in 2024, having a similarly spectacular second half in the A's' final season in Oakland. Butler batted .300 and had a .898 OPS in the second half of the year, putting together a special month of July with 10 homers, 27 RBIs and a 1.210 OPS. The A's, prior to their cold streak, led the AL West with a 27-26 record towards the end of May.
By the end of June, though, they found themselves in fourth place—six games under .500. By the end of July, they were 20 games under .500, and well outside of contention. The main reason for their drop off comes from their pitching staff, whose underlying numbers finally caught up to them.
The A's signed three pitchers to their pitching staff in the offseason, Aaron Civale, Mark Leiter Jr. and Scott Barlow. The A's designated both Civale and Barlow before the All-Star break, and Leiter has struggled with injury all season. Mix in a few other injuries to their starters and a revolving door bullpen, and you get the worst ERA in the American League.
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