Athletics avoid arbitration with veteran OF

The Athletics and first baseman/outfielder Seth Brown have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract for the 2025 season, per a club announcement. The financial components of the deal have not yet been publicly announced.

Brown, 32, looked as though he was no longer in the A’s plans midseason when he was passed through waivers unclaimed. He accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A so as not to forfeit the remainder of last year’s $2.6M salary, but Brown caught fire in the minors and hit his way back up to the big leagues in short order.

At the time of his removal from the 40-man roster, Brown was hitting just .189/.251/.306 through 195 plate appearances. He erupted with a .403/.416/.736 slash and seven homers in 77 Triple-A plate appearances, however, and found himself back on the big league roster less than a month later. From the time he returned to the majors through season’s end, Brown hit .271/.312/.448 in a sample of 205 plate appearances that was nearly identical to his early season struggles.

That proved enough to keep Brown in the team’s plans for at least another year, it seems. The lefty-swinging slugger figures to again split his time between first base and the outfield corners, while Brent Rooker takes the majority of plate appearances at designated hitter. 

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a $3.8M salary for Brown in free agency, though deals hammered out before the non-tender deadline (known as "pre-tender" deals) often come with salaries south of projections. Teams have more leverage before the non-tender deadline and thus will frequently present offers in what’s effectively a "take it or leave it" fashion, with the "leave it" option representing a non-tender.

Brown has now had consecutive disappointing seasons at the plate, but he popped 45 homers in 261 games with the A’s from 2021-22. He’s a .225/.289/.426 hitter (102 wRC+) in 1,640 plate appearances dating back to the 2021 season.